City of the Dead Angels
by MuffinPuppiesUnite
Summary: *Formerly 'Big Time Zombie Plague'* Dark shadows loom over what used to be the city of Angels, but is now the city of the dead. Zombies and fear live, survival is key, though these are teenagers. Does drama have any place in the undead city that the remaining residents of the Palm Woods are trapped in? Read to find out. WARNING: Violence, gore, character death.
1. Carlos Was Right

_Carlos was right. _Logan runs up the stairs, fearing that the elevator doors may close too slowly, and he will be attacked by Bitters. _Well, what's left of him._

Soon he reaches the old crib, he runs inside, and slams the door shut. Sweat pouring down his face, he shuts his eyes. But that's no good; the images of the rotten, bloody, flesh sliding off of Bitters' bones, the-

His eyes fly open. The images are too violent. Two weeks ago Camille, the girl he had such confusing feelings about, fell terribly ill. Katie went in to check on her two days later...said her skin was green and puffy and rotten...but that wasn't the worst: Camille had leaned over and bitten Katie's shoulder, and, Katie's and Carlos' thoughts and fears, they took them out of the city, towards a zombie containment unit Carlos had secured within months of arriving in L.A, where the two could stay until they got better or, if worst came to worst, death. But they were horrified but what they saw:

Not a single person in sight was human. All of them were oozing green, rotten flesh, their bloody, foul, ripped up clothes hanging off their bones. Despite Kendall's great deal of protest, they dropped the ill Katie off, and Carlos and James knocked the already dead Camille out cold. Katie was green and coughing up blood, but her mother hugged her goodbye anyway. Worst mistake of her life. Katie bit her mother's neck, who turned and screamed at the boys; "Run, drive away and warn them! I love you, boys." before running away while she still had control.

Kendall had collapsed on the ground, and a zombie was headed towards them. James and Carlos grabbed his shoulders, pulled him into the car, and they sped away. Most at the Palm Woods didn't believe them. And that's why most of them are dead now.

"Hey Logan." James said, snapping the boy out of his flashbacks. "How did it go?" Logan shook his head.

"I couldn't find her." Logan said.

"Sh*t!" James kicked a basket of fruit gummies, one of the only food supplies they could gather safely. "How will we tell Tyler?" It had been my job to look for Mrs. Duncan. All the remaining known survivors have packed into another apartment, but this is where they're storing the food, one floor down. James had been guarding since last night, leaving Carlos, Jo, Lucy, Kendall, Jennifers 2 &3, Buddha Bob, Jett, Tyler, and Lightning to live in the other. That's it. 12. No one even knows about Gustavo, Kelly, or Griffin. All means of communication have been lost.

"I'll send someone to take the shift, now." Logan offered, standing up. The rising January sun signaled 7am, because the electricity was out, too. Could it be that exactly 3 weeks ago was Christmas Eve, 2013? January 14, today. At least according to the scratches on the wall.

"F*ck it, I can do it myself." James snapped. This wasn't the James Logan knew. James is a fun-loving, hair-combing, beach-dancing singer, not this beaten, torn up, soldier who's every other word out of his mouth is a curse. His clothes torn and bloody, his eyes bloodshot, this is the image Logan had feared his brothers turning into when they saw the zombies.

"Alright." Logan walked out, not bothering to argue with his recently fierce friend.

* * *

Back in the main apartment, which they disguised from the outside to look like it was hurriedly abandoned, Tyler was weeping, being snuggled by Lightning.

"What happened, Logan?" Tyler's voice perked up as he saw him. Logan shook his head in response.

"I'm sorry, Tyler." Logan murmured. Tyler fell back into the worn couch, Lightning nosing his way into the child's arm. Lucy stood up confidently.

"I'm going down to the food storage." She announced, not able to see the look on Tyler's face. Logan handed her the metal bar that was their only weapon, other than the one James held.

"Anyone else want something?" Lucy asked.

"I'll go." Carlos hopped up and they left, carefully looking over their shoulders, as to not get sneaked up on.

* * *

**A/N: If you liked the story, please follow and review! I love the feedback, and even if you don't like it, let me know what I can improve on. Thanks! :)**


	2. I promise

**Warning: Minor Lucy/Carlos and Lucy/James shipping. Interpret as you want...for now. ;)**

* * *

Lucy walked through the halls carefully, bar in hand. Although Carlos had her back, she was still terrified. Maybe not even of the undead. Maybe of James' transformation.

Since their kiss in July of last year, things had been...complicated. Not anymore. Not since Katie, who was like a little sister to James, died. No, now he spends all his time trying to fight them. There is no relationship, at all. People check on him frequently to make sure he hasn't tried to attack by himself.

"Lucy!" Carlos called her name but when she looked over, he was running towards Buddha Bob, who no one had seen for hours. He looked alright, (Well, alright as anyone right now) except his lower shirt had been replaced by bandages. When he saw Carlos, he started walking towards him.

"Buddha Bob!" Carlos cried. "What happened?"

"I've been bit." Buddha Bob looked greenish white, and was clearly struggling against the plague that Carlos had seen coming since he was seven. The man stumbled onto the ground.

"What can I do?" Carlos asked. The man pulled his usually-smiling-but-now-frowning duct-tape face plunger off his belt.

"Take care of Plungy." Buddha Bob groaned.

"I promise I will." Carlos replied, taking the plunger from the slightly mad person. Then Buddha Bob, who Carlos thought of as a friend, passed out. He was gone, but his body would wake up soon.

"We have to go." Lucy said reluctantly. "He'll wake up any minute." Carlos, looking at Plungy, stood up.

"We can't leave him." Carlos commented.

"We have to, otherwise he'll kill us." Lucy replied.

"No, I mean, he's too close to the base." He said. "He'll find us." Lucy nodded, put the bar on her belt, and began dragging the body away. She noticed how the old Carlos would have meant what she thought he did, not this. _Everyone's changing._ Once he was downstairs, they hurriedly ran back up. Usually, the zombies stayed downstairs, so they kept most human activity upstairs. When they had climbed two levels of stairs, Lucy and Carlos leaned against a wall.

"That was our last adult?" Lucy asked, knowing the answer.

"Well, if you don't count Plungy." Carlos said with a half-smile. Maybe he's not gone completely. Then, thinking of Buddha Bob again, the smile faded.

"Let's get some food and head back." Lucy suggested, standing up. Carlos bounced up and they went to the floor that Carlos, his brothers, and Kendall's family used to live in, 2J.

Carlos turned the knob, walked in, and felt something hit his lower back. He fell onto his stomach, and a foot kicked him onto his back. James was standing over him.

"What are you doing?" Carlos asked.

"Sorry." James gave him a hand up. "Mistook you for dead. Food?" Carlos and Lucy nodded, and James tossed each of them a bag of chips. Vending machine food. That's all they've got, other than the food in the apartments that's left. When people hurriedly tried to escape, they took their food downstairs with them, before they were turned into zombies.

Lucy couldn't help but stare at the scrapes and cuts and scars lining all of James' exposed skin in the dim winter morning light. And the ones on her own. She gave up trying to remember where she got each one awhile ago.

"And James?" Carlos knew he had to tell his brother at some point. He turned to face him. "Buddha Bob is...gone."

"What?" For the first time since Katie's death, James' eyes showed real emotion: fear. "We're alone?"

"We have everyone in the other room." Lucy pointed out.

"We're teenagers!" James' yelled. At least Carlos thought it was a yell. For the past week and a half, since Camille and Katie's deaths and the complete annihilation of the Palm Woods, Buddha Bob, who was in charge before his death, told everyone it was best to whisper. Until then, the only break of that rule was when Kendall cried out for Katie and his mom in his sleep...twice.

"Let's go." Lucy said. She and Carlos walked back upstairs to 3I, Jo's former apartment and the current base of the survivors.

Lucy reached for the doorknob, but Carlos stopped her hand. When she looked over, tears were streaming down his face.

"Carlos." She backed away from the door, and they leaned against the wall. "What's wrong? We've been gone half an hour, and they'll start to worry."

"I can't take this, Lucy!" He whimpered. "Logan, James and Kendall are so much stronger. I've been preparing for this for ten years. But I didn't expect this horror. I imagined fighting the undead with James by my side, Logan planning our attacks, Kendall leading us." He turned and looked at the wall opposite of them. "I mean, never did I wish so badly that James and I hadn't broken our bottles of Zom-B-Gone. Not that they would even work."

"Do you need a minute?" Lucy asked.

"No, I need a hug." Carlos leaned over and they hugged, him fighting back tears. Lucy broke away, stood up, and walked inside, leaving the weapon with her damaged friend.


	3. The Base

"So..." Lucy, who just walked in, starts. "We found Buddha Bob." A sound of eagerness escapes everyone's mouths, but Lucy cuts to the chase. "He's dead." A murmur of worry and distress emanates from the group, and Lucy says Carlos just needed a minute outside.

"Was he actually dead, or..." Jennifer 3 ventures cautiously. "A zombie?"

"We don't know." Lucy replies. "We found him after he was bit, but before he...passed out. He could have either been eaten after we dragged his body downstairs, or...'woken up'." She finishes, putting air quotes around "woken up."

"Should we wake the others to tell them?" Jo asks. Everyone shakes their heads. The sleeping people are Jennifer 2, Jett, Logan, after being out all night, and Kendall. Kendall doesn't do much but sleep during the day, because of the nightmares that keep him awake at night. Desperately lonely, Jo has turned to Jett for comfort in the darkness of the undead city.

_I wish Kendall was awake. _She thinks. He's sleeping on her bed right now. Other than that, the sleeping places are, a couch, a loveseat, three chairs in different rooms, and a bed in another bedroom. Jo walks over to the window facing the pool, because the dead usually stay away from the water. Seeing the mucky, green water, she remembers when it was blue and clear and they could have fun, laugh, play volley-

_What is that? _Jo backs away from the window at the sight of a detached, rotten, arm sunken to the bottom of the water. She walks over to the loveseat, horrified, and nudges Jett awake.

"What's wrong?" Jett asks.

"Just, don't fall asleep right now." She replies, hiding her fear the best she can. Jett opens his arms and she curls close. Yes, Kendall is her boyfriend. Was. But now, with Kendall always out, she decides it's not wrong to curl up close to someone in the dark shadows looming over what used to be the city of Angels, but is now the city of the dead.

* * *

**A/N: Stupidly short chapter, I know. I'm sorry. The next one will be longer. Please review and thank you to everyone who followed! **


	4. Fights

**A/N: Hey guys, MuffinPuppiesUnite here. Can I ask you all a favor? I need a good name for the story, and I'm not sure "Big Time Zombie Plague" cuts it. So could you leave suggestions in the reviews? Thanks so much! **

* * *

Kendall drags himself out of the bed around the afternoon. No matter how long he sleeps, it never seems long enough. At least he doesn't get the nightmares when he falls asleep in bright daylight.

Everyone seems to be going about regular business; resting, fixing up the camouflage outside, etc. The only thing that catches his eye is Jennifer 2 on the loveseat, trying to contain her sobs while Jennifer 3 tries to comfort her. He walks over and picks up their conversation.

"But we're all alone, now!" Jennifer 2 sobs.

"It'll be okay, Jenn." Jennifer 3 says.

"What's she talking about?" Kendall asks. Jennifer 3 seems ticked off that he was eavesdropping, but answers.

"Carlos and Lucy found Buddha Bob." Jennifer 3 replies. "He's been bitten, and they dragged his body downstairs." She turns back to her friend. Kendall starts looking for Jo, and walks out to her balcony.

She's kissing Jett. Kendall backs away before they see him, hurries to the kitchen to talk to Lucy, and asks who's guarding the food.

"Who do you think?" Of course. James.

"I'm gonna go guard for him." Kendall says. "Let Logan know for me?" She nods as he starts walking out. He stops right before opening the door and turns back around to Lucy. "Where's the weapon?"

"Carlos has it. He's sitting outside."

Kendall walks out and sees Carlos sitting with his head on his knees, but when he sees Kendall, he springs up.

"Here." Carlos hands him the bar, knowing that's what he needed. Seems like the formerly close BTR has grown apart. Because sure enough, he heads towards the stairs without a word once he has the weapon.

When he's out of sight of Carlos, that's when Kendall starts breaking down, but trips, and falls ten steps onto next landing. He picks himself up, sits on a step, and tries to figure this out.

_Why?_ Did he really let her down this bad? He remembers the nightmares suddenly. Katie and Mom slowly turning into Z's, the empty loneliness. He opens the eyes he didn't realize were shut and finds he's pulling the carpet out by raking it with his fingers. He stands up, and walks over to where he apparently flung the bar, because there it lies, with a crack in the wall above. He heads down to 2J.

James opens the door to see Kendall standing there.

"You need to rest." Kendall says firmly.

"Hey, not all of us sleep all day, Kendall." James replies sarcastically. Kendall bites his tongue to keep from blowing up at him. Everyone is dealing with this in their own ways. But he doesn't have to be so rude.

"Fine, but I'm staying here with you." Kendall plants himself on a box labeled _FRITOS-100 PACK._ Luckily, just before this, Bitters had received shipments for the vending machines.

_But we can't keep running on junk food._ Kendall thinks. There was some good food in the apartments of the remaining people, but not enough.

A big reason there are guards is because they need a warning. If they see that the Z's decided to come upstairs, which requires a great effort for them, the guard can climb a rope along the side of the building and up to Jo's balcony to warn everyone.

"Something's wrong?" James asks. Kendall turns to him. His friend has a long cut on his left cheek, and his face is always slightly swelled because of it. It just reminds him that this isn't the same James, and when he tells him, he might not react the way he would have used to.

"I saw Jo kiss Jett." Kendall sighs.

"Well, I can't blame her." James replies honestly. "You're gone, he's there for her, about time she found someone who will be a good boyfriend." Kendall walks over to the couch, and sits down. James follows.

A couple minutes pass before anyone speaks again. "How'd you get that cut on your face?" Kendall asks.

"I was raiding a vending machine, and a zombie came up." His eyes get darker, but he continues. "I fell into the vending machine, 'cause I had broken the glass, the edge cut deep. Logan had my back, so I was fine."

_Is he implying that I didn't have his back?_ Kendall bites his lip again.

"Go ahead, say it." James says. "You think I'm acting like an *ss."

"Maybe I do!" Kendall says, standing up. "We all find it just as hard as you, ya big *ssh*le!"

"Well how about I leave then!" James shouts.

"Fine!" Kendall turns away and hears the door slam shut.

Although Kendall assumes he goes to 3I, James really goes downstairs to do what everyone knows he does but never speaks of.

When four undead skulls are smashed in, James sits on the tenth step from the bottom. They're easy to kill, when only a few are around. It's dangerous, and it opens the worse wounds, but it burns the anger. Someday, the living will have to leave the Palm Woods for safety, but at least he's killing some of the undead. After an hour of killing, he hears footsteps behind him, in the lobby. Lucy, Carlos, and Jett are standing there.

"James, what the h#ll!" Lucy hits him right before hugging him. "Come on, we should stay away from them!" James reluctantly goes up with her.

When they reach 3I, James immediately collapses onto the loveseat, unable to stand anymore. Lucy smiles. He needs his rest.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so the terms _Z's_, _zombies_, and _undead_ mean the same thing in this story. :) Again, please leave suggestions for a new name in the reviews. Thank you. **


	5. Screaming Sisters

Logan wakes up after a long nap in a chair in Jo's old bedroom and sees everyone just pacing, sitting, nothing out of the ordinary. He walks into the living room, though, to see a sight that lifts some of the cloud of worry out of his chest. James is sleeping, and he looks peaceful.

Tyler sits on the couch, still distraught about his mother, but no longer sobbing. Logan walks over, and tries to sit down next to him, but Lightning, who is snuggled close, growls when the teen gets near.

"I'm sorry, Tyler." Logan's stomach ties in knots as he speaks. "I tried, and I will look again as soon as I can."

"I don't wanna accept that she's a zombie," Tyler's eyes cloud with pain as he responds to Logan's apology. "But I think I'll feel so much worse if I don't." He curls up on the couch, faces the backrest, and soon enough falls asleep, exhausted from all the crying.

"Where's Kendall?" Logan asks Jennifer 3, who just sent Jennifer 2 to sleep.

"He went to guard." Lucy answers from behind Jennifer. "And something tells me things aren't running too smoothly with him and James." All three teens look at James, who is sleeping with his fingers gripping a pillow tightly, but other than that, he seems fine. At least, it looks that way outside...

Logan sees Carlos walk past, and he nods at him.

"Hey." Logan greets him.

"Yello." Carlos replies in his old tone of voice before continuing to the balcony for some fresh air. Not that the smell of the dead is fresh, but at least it's not so...stuffy.

"What makes you say that?" Logan continues his conversation with Lucy and Jennifer.

"We went to look for them since they were gone awhile." Lucy answers. "And we found James...downstairs...killing..." The three turn their heads once again towards James. Jennifer bites her lip when she sees fresh blood on his hands. Is it his, though?

"No, no!" A screaming from the second bedroom floats to the living room. "Jennifer, no!" Jennifer 3 runs in fastest, with Logan, Lucy, Jo, and Jett trailing right behind, to see her blonde friend sitting straight up, eyes open, screaming her head off for their dead sister. Since she won't stop, Logan clamps a hand over her mouth until she realizes she's fine, and stays quiet, but still quaking. Soon Jennifer 3 calms her down.

Lucy, who has a tendency to do this, takes charge. "Logan, Jett, you two make sure nothing heard and and if something did," She looks Jett in the eye as she hands him the weapon. "Get rid of it." Logan and Jett leave quickly, and Jennifer 2 falls into her sister's arms.

_Why is Jennifer so much stronger than me?_ She spits on herself mentally, thinking of how her sister hasn't woken everyone up when screaming, or been too afraid to take the guard shift. Jennifer 3 adjusted so fast, and she doesn't even seem fazed. Why?

But the nightmare of what happened with Jennifer 1 comes back to her. She fell into their teeth. _I should have had her back._ Jennifer 2 thinks. Instead she remembers the picture of a rotten undead version of Guitar Dude sinking it's teeth into her flesh. The guilt of leaving her alone, even though she had known there was no other way, consumes her, and she finds herself sobbing into a pillow.

And for all this pain, all this guilt, all the fear Jennifer 2 feels, her brunette sister hasn't flinched. Maybe this girl isn't as similar to her own self as she thought.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, I still need a good name, so if you have any ideas you'd be willing to share, I'm all ears, and you'd get credit. Please review! :) Thanks!**


	6. Missing

Jett walks back to 3I after guarding for the night. There's probably only one person up at this hour. Most likely Kendall. He and James, who took the guard now, fought two days ago, about something that they're still upset about. When Jett gets to 3I, the dim hallway seems suddenly eerie, and he quickly locks himself inside. No one is around, which adds to his growing worries.

"He-hello?" Jett calls nervously, raising his voice slightly and putting the bar in the defensive position. Surprising enough, Carlos walks back from the balcony.

"I take it the switch went smoothly." Carlos almost smiles. When he looks at the empty couch, though, he's horrified. "Where's Tyler?"

"What?"

"He was sleeping here just a second ago." Carlos answers as he begins looking around the rooms, waking people up with his loudness, searching for the twelve-year-old boy.

When Lucy is woken up, she orders Carlos, Jett, and Jennifer 3 to do an immediate sweep of the upstairs, and she, Kendall, and Jennifer 2 head downstairs, leaving Jo and Logan to wait in case he comes back. The downstairs team takes the weapon, since they are much more likely to run into Z's.

Lucy's heart is racing as she heads downstairs. Kendall has the bar; the other two are weaponless. They really need more weapons. Hearing growling right next to her, Lucy spins around, kicks a zombie over, then sends her foot as hard into it's temple as possible, killing it once and for all. The group of four zombies is already dead, so they continue.

After about thirty minutes, Kendall calls out; "Tyler!" In a hushed voice. No response, until a zombie starts limping towards them. They're spread out, and it's nearing Jennifer, and she seems to have a nervous breakdown, sitting and pulling her knees close to her chest. Kendall rushes over, thwacks the creature in the gut, then bashes it's head in with the bar. The blood and flesh splatters onto him, warm and dead cold at the same time, causing him to stagger back, bumping into Jennifer, who is still on the ground with her knees pulled up to her chin, but she's watching Kendall with tears of fear and gratitude shining brightly in her eyes.

"Jennifer, come on." Lucy says. "We can figure this all out later, right now there's a little boy who's gone missing, and we have to save him. Help us or go back upstairs to wait with Jo." She turns on her heel, and, after exchanging a look with each other, Kendall and Jennifer follow.

Meanwhile, as Carlos, Jett, and Jennifer 3 look for Tyler on the fourth floor, Carlos seems hesitant to continue.

"Maybe we should head back?" He asks nervously. The other two stare at him in disbelief.

"You're giving up that easily?" Jennifer questions him.

"No..." Carlos stares at the ground and they continue to the next door.

"Here we go, 4C." Jett's opens the door. Out of nowhere a bar hits the back of Jett's head, and Stephanie King steps out of the shadows of the darkened apartment, bar in hand.

"Oh my gosh, I thought he was a Z." Stephanie gasps. "I didn't know there were others alive." Jennifer leans down and takes his pulse.

"He's got one." She says, and they hold his head to keep it aligned. He wakes up after a minute, and seems alright, just barely dazed. They keep him still as Jennifer talks to Stephanie.

"Yeah, so I don't know where it came from, but after I locked myself in here, I found a box of supplies under my kitchen sink." Stephanie sighs. Others are alive. Maybe she won't cry so much at night anymore.


	7. Search

**A/N: Hey, an apology here. Sorry, I only just realized that I messed up: for the 1st 2 chapters, and made them past tense, then made the next chapters present tense. Whoops. **

* * *

"We'll head to the gun store right away." Lucy says, throwing a pack of saltine crackers into a bag. "We'll start heading back after three days, and if we're not back by six," She looks straight into Jo's eye when she finishes. "Expect the worst, and do not, I repeat, do _not_ come looking for us."

"Come on, hurry up!" James urges her on. James, Carlos, Logan, Kendall, Jett, the Jennifers, and Lucy are setting out to look for Tyler. Logan, Lucy, and Jennifer 3 each take one of the packs.

"Bye." Carlos hugs Stephanie and Jo, the two staying behind to wait for for Tyler, and everyone sets out.

"Remember guys, we have no specific place we need to get to." Kendall reminds them as they walk out the lobby. "Just looking over as much of the city as possible." Hardly any Z's are around; they usually stay in groups of four to seven that they call packs. Carlos looks across the parking lot to see the beaten cars that no one uses. The sun has well set, and the moon indicates about eight at night, since it's late January.

"Kendall look out!" Lucy jumps and hits a lone Z that was nearing Kendall, who took the lead, and it's flesh splatters everywhere. She pushes the green creature onto the floor, and sends the bar straight down into his temple, crushing the skull.

"We need more weapons." Jennifer 3 speculates. "We can't work with only one weapon."

"We should reach the gun shop on Glendale by ten, and we'll sleep there." Lucy replies as they continue. "Until then, no one stray from the group, got it?" Everyone nods.

After an hour, a light rain begins, the first in a while, helping to clean away the inside-churning, sickening, but almost rottenly sweet scent of the dead. Noticing Carlos isn't with the group, Logan looks back to see his friend staring down the narrow passageway between two vacant buildings about five meters back.

"Carlos, hurry up." Logan says as he walks back, murmuring to the others that they'll catch up.

"Look." Carlos points down the passageway, and Logan looks. A skeleton with barely any flesh on it lies against the wall.

"What?" Logan swallows hard.

"Look closer."

He does, and sees the rain washing the flesh off.

"What's your point?" Logan asks.

"There's another over there." Carlos nods farther back. "it's not a Z, and the flesh isn't washing off, but that one was a Z when I got here. It was fighting, but the rain seemed to be destroying it, like rain is it's kryptonite." Carlos finishes and a hint of his old eagerness returns to his voice.

"Okay, come on." Logan rolls his eyes and the two hurry to catch up. What was he getting at? Logan puts the thought in the back of his mind, because it couldn't possibly help them in this situation. After about ten minutes, the rain stops.

"Guys, a pack, I'd say of about six," James murmurs after another half hour. Lucy motions for them to hide behind a couple dumpsters. They're pushed together so they have to climb over, and Jennifer 2 climbs first.

Carlos, the last person to go behind the dumpsters, reaches his foot up, but they're getting too close, so, knowing he won't get over in time, James kicks the dumpster hard and Carlos falls into the container, hidden from view. The smell of rotten garbage infested into the empty container has barely any effect on him, because he's gotten too used to it. He hits his ankle and it twists painfully as the lid of the green container slams shut, trapping him in darkness.

_Please don't find us._ Logan prays silently as the creatures stumble past, bumping into each other, biting each other, and even biting themselves in their confusion. Finally they pass.

"Hold on, Carlos, we'll get you out." Lucy says as she and Jett lift the lid.

"Guys, I think I may have hurt my ankle." Carlos says as he tries to put weight on his left ankle, the injured one.

"Don't do that." Logan sighs and he and Kendall pull him out. Carlos immediately winces when he tries to put weight on his foot. Logan takes a closer look at his friend's foot. The flesh around his ankle is already starting to swell and has taken on a bluish look.

"I'm sorry, guys." Carlos sits on an old box.

"Maybe if somebody hadn't kicked the dumpster." Kendall looks at James when he speaks. A gray cloud of coldness hangs over the group. James stays silent.

"Hey girls," Jett brings their attention to him. "Stop."

"Oh, you're gonna wish I was only a girl." James raises his fist, but Lucy punches him in the stomach. Hard. And it hurts.

"You two," Lucy says, looking at James and Kendall. "Stop being idiots. We're out here to find Tyler, and if we want to survive, we have to get a weapon. Got it?" She walks away, followed by the others. Carlos wraps his arm around Logan's neck, who helps him walk.

By the time they're nearing the store, the clouds have covered the moon, so it's almost impossible to see. Logan trips over a wide crack in the road, causing him and Carlos to fall, crashing into both Jennifers.

"Be careful." Lucy hisses. Kendall puts his hand up as a signal to stop, looks into the glass of the store, then waves them forward.

As they hurry into the store, they hear the click of a gun being cocked.

* * *

**A/N: CLIFF. HANG. ER. I will hurry to get the next chapter up, but I will make sure it is quality. Please review, because if you don't review, I can't tell if people are reading, plus I love the feedback! Thank you!**


	8. Tobias

"Why shouldn't I shoot you?" The man, who looks about thirty, speaks with a light southern accent, and he steps out of the back room, ready to shoot. He has pale skin, wears a severely worn out flannel shirt and jeans, and his hair is black, cut short like Logan's. He has some stubble, like he hasn't been able to shave, but not a full on beard, and his sharp blue eyes watch every movement the group makes.

"We're not Z's." Lucy says. She nudges Kendall and raises her hands as a sign of peace, signaling for everyone but Carlos and Logan to do the same.

"Z's?" The man puts his pistol on his holster and laughs. "I just call them freaky little f#!kers! I'm Tobias, I ran this shop." He shakes Kendall's and Lucy's hands. Then he looks down at Carlos' swollen ankle. "You'll need some treatment for that."

"We have some first-aid supplies." Kendall replies, remembering the kit Stephanie had, but they didn't want to use, so close to the pack.

"Well, whatever it is, for a sprain, I don't think it'll cut it." Tobias remarks. Unfortunately, he's right. "I have some ice, if it'll help."

"You have _ice_?" The jaws of the group drop slightly and Logan voices their shock. They haven't had ice since the freezer stopped being cold.

"Yes, now you teens just sit down, and if you want, take a weapon." Tobias offers, handing Kendall the three stools from behind the counter. "I'm assuming that's what you came for, and I have quite a lot." He walks into the back room.

Both Logan and Carlos sit down, and so does Jett.

"I'm exhausted." Jett groans.

"Well, maybe he'll let us sleep here, just for tonight." Lucy says as she, Logan and Jennifer 3 set their packs down. Tobias walks back with a cold ice pack and a long strap of fabric. He ties it around Carlos' ankle, and he winces from the cold.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to it." Tobias says with a laugh. He hands Carlos a small bag of pills, and Carlos looks at them suspiciously. "They're not prescription." Carlos nods and opens the bag, swallowing one pill, and Tobias continues; "There's a small apartment in the back, just two rooms, and I use one for supplies. But there are two mattresses, and you can either share or just let the rest sleep on the floor." He hands Jennifer 2 a hairbrush.

"What's this for?" She asks.

"Trust me, neat hair could make you feel better during this." Tobias replies, and the blonde girl starts untangling her hair.

"Thank you for everything." Jennifer 3 says to Tobias.

"No problem, sweetheart." Tobias smiles. The Jennifers continue brushing each others' hair like they used to, Logan passes around a couple crackers to each person, and Kendall, Lucy, and Tobias distribute simple, easy to handle pistols to each person.

"Now, ya'll better get to bed; I'll keep watch." Tobias says after showing them how to work the guns.

"I'll watch with you." Lucy offers. Everyone else goes to the back room to sleep.

The Jennifers end up sharing one of the mattresses, Carlos and James get the other, with Kendall sleeping at the end of the mattress and Jett and Logan on the floor. After the exhaustion of the night, everyone, even Kendall, finds sleep.

* * *

**A/N: A short chapter, I know. A longer coming up, though! Review!**


	9. Bacon Causes Problems

Carlos cracks his eyes open to see what's forcing him awake. The throbbing in his ankle probably. He kicks James' foot off of his own, which causes him to stir.

"Carlos, you're hogging the blanket." James murmurs, almost inaudible. He yanks the thin, battered, brown blanket over as if they were in a regular situation, yet sleeping in the same bed, and Carlos decides to get up. He limps into the main room, to find Lucy sitting on the counter, facing the door.

"Where's Tobias?" Carlos asks, causing Lucy to turn around.

"He was about to fall off his chair, so I forced him to go to bed around midnight. He's sleeping in the supply room." Lucy answers. "He probably hasn't slept in days."

"I'll watch if you want to go to bed." Carlos offers.

"No, but you're welcome to join me." Lucy pats the empty space next to her, and Carlos sits next to her on the counter.

"The sun hasn't risen yet," Carlos comments.

"No." Lucy replies. "How's your ankle?"

"It's what woke me up." Carlos sighs.

"Take another one of those pills." Lucy nods at the bag sticking slightly out of Carlos' pocket. He swallows one more.

Several minutes pass before Carlos asks; "Do you miss James?" Lucy looks over from the street outside suddenly when he speaks. "I know you two like each other..." Carlos smiles when a hint of laughter comes to her voice.

"I don't know, I guess." Lucy considers. "I don't need him to survive." She looks at Carlos, and notices something. "That plunger is still on your belt."

"I made a promise, Lucy." Carlos stops smiling when he remembers Buddha Bob. "He was my friend."

Minutes pass without a word, but Lucy can feel her heart beating faster, her eyes forcing her to look at him, kicking her feet back and forth to distract herself but knowing it will never work. And before she realizes what either of them are doing, Lucy feels herself being pulled in for a kiss. Not by Carlos, though. Something else. Something stronger than even when she last kissed someone: James. She gives up fighting and lets her lips part slightly as she leans in.

They both hear a whistle just before their lips touch, and Carlos' face turns red when they see Tobias standing at the doorway to the back room.

"Talk about guard duty." Tobias snickers, walking towards them.

"You couldn't have slept an hour." Lucy comments, changing the subject. "Why are you awake?"

"Actually, dawn 'll be here in a little over an hour," Tobias replies. "But I can see the heat is already getting on, lovers." Tobias snickers again, and both teens look at each other quickly before returning to Tobias. He leans against the edge of the glass counter and speaks again. "Why don't you two wake up your friends in there, and we can eat, unless you two wanna keep being all romantic and fluffy." Lucy scoffs at the immaturity, hops down from her spot and walks quickly into the other room, Carlos limping behind her.

"Wake up, bonehead." Carlos kicks Logan in a friendly way with his right foot, and Lucy can't help but smile. They seem to be the only two out of the four boys to keep their friendly relationship.

"Dawn already?" Logan asks, starting to fold the blanket he and Jett had to share.

"Almost." Lucy replies, shaking Jennifer 2 awake.

Almost drawn by the smell, Jett sits up; "Anyone smell bacon?" The others sniff, and they do. Jennifer 2 immediately slides off the mattress and hurries into the kitchen, followed eagerly by Jett and James, who is not so eager as he is furious.

"You have warm food?" Jennifer 2 asks when she sees Tobias cooking on a portable stove.

"Yes I do, and I have plenty for all nine of us." Tobias smiles, turning a strip of bacon. Jennifer 2 stumbles into Jett, almost dizzy with the smell of warm food.

"We have our own food." James crosses his arms, fed up with accepting any more from Tobias.

"Crackers and canned meat." Tobias tilts his head. "Yes, I looked through your supplies, alright?"

"Steal anything?" James inquires.

"Of course not!" Tobias' eyebrows furrow at the accusation. "Maybe you should be a bit grateful, alright? I don't want a lot of thanks or favors in return, but I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't accuse me of stealing your supplies, thank you very much." James compresses his lips and storms back to the other room in silence.

"Now, this should be ready in a little while, so go do whatever y'all need to do." Tobias sends the other two back also, jaws slightly dropped in shock at the piece of conversation between Tobias and James. They pass by Lucy and Kendall on the way as the second pair walk out.

"Tobias, do you have a map of the city, by any chance?" Kendall asks.

"Yes, but you can't see the area 'round that place, what's it called, Palm Woods," Tobias starts. "It's blotted out by some spilled water, but other than that it's alright. Why, you need a copy?"

"Yes, I don't think you understand why we're out here." Lucy sighs, and looks at Kendall. He nods to indicate she should tell him. "We lived at the Palm Woods, and a friend of ours went missing. We're the search party."

"Well, good luck with that." Tobias sighs. Emotion floods his face as he continues. "Me and one lady, we teamed up. One day, she just went missing, out of the blue. I waited a day for her to return, then spent a week searching. When I gave up, came back here, two days later, she showed up. Kelly had been bitten; I had to kill her."

"Kelly." Kendall repeats. "Kelly Wainwright?"

"Yeah, you know her?" Tobias asks.

"F#ck, Kelly's dead." Tears come to Kendall's eyes; he can't help it. "First Camille, and Katie, and my mom." He falls to his knees. "Now Kelly! F#ck!" He shouts out. "Why did this have to happen to us!?"

"Kendall," Lucy kneels down next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. By now James, Carlos, and Logan have all come out of the other room to see what's going on.

"What happened?" Logan asks, concern obvious in his eyes.

"Kelly's dead, you #ssh#le!" Kendall falls on the ground, seemingly having a mental breakdown. Logan's eyes widen, not expecting Kendall of all people to curse. "Now Tyler's gonna die too and it's my fault!"

"It's not your fault, Kendall." Carlos says. Those same words stated differently come out of everyone's mouths, except James.

"Kendall, you have to listen to me." Tobias kneels down and forces Kendall to look him in the eyes. "If we blame ourselves for every death, we won't be able to protect the living, because to survive and protect in this world, you have to stay focused. Ya hear me?" Kendall nods and Lucy looks quickly at James, who was shifting nervously the whole time Tobias was talking. She stands.

"Wouldn't kill you to listen Tobias either, James." Lucy says. Everyone else stands, and Logan helps Kendall into the other room, followed by Carlos and Tobias, the four of them not exactly wanting to watch this.

"I don't have to listen to him." James stares at the ground.

Lucy's voice drops to a whisper. "What happened to Katie is not your fault."

"I need some fresh air." James heads towards the door.

"It's not any fresher out there than it is in here." Lucy argues.

"I'll be back by dawn." James walks out, and Lucy follows.

"No, don't leave." Lucy says. "We need your help here."

"Leave me alone, b#tch." James fights tears as he walks away, knowing it wasn't true but he had to say something that would make Lucy not follow him. And it works.

She walks back inside the store, and slams the door behind her.

* * *

**A/N: James fans, do not fret. There is some reason to his madness. **

**BTW, the new name is, drum roll please...no drum roll. The name is City of the Dead Angels, as you can see. Please review!**


	10. Paranoid

**Update:**

**I am having a bit of trouble deciding where this story is going. I've had ideas that I've used, ideas that I've dumped, it's a mess in my head. So if you could be patient with changes I make to the description, etc. a lot, that would be great. Thanks. **

* * *

James sits on the curb, head in his hands, and sweat dripping down his face. He killed five already. The smell seems to be flattening out, and the faint scent of flowers laces the air. Not many are in this area, and the bloodstains are fewer, although not by much.

He hears growling, stands, and sees a group of four headed towards him. He shoots each one in the head a couple times, and stares at the corpses. It reminds him of Katie's corpse. Gone. All gone. His head starts aching, his body starts trembling, and he falls on his knees. Finally he shakes his head, and goes back, with the mindset of being calmer.

"You seem awful prepared." Kendall says to Tobias, everyone obviously ignoring James. Only Lucy looks up for a second before returning to push around her bacon.

"Call me paranoid, but I saw this coming a mile away." Tobias sighs.

"Well, looks like you're just the right amount of paranoid, otherwise we wouldn't have breakfast." Carlos laughs, and he brings a laugh from everyone that stops as soon as James joins in.

"What?" The corners of James' mouth drop again to their normal slightly-frowning position, and an icy silence settles over the group. By the time the sun rises, everyone has finished eating, and they stand.

"Thank you so much, Tobias, but we have to go." Lucy says, not even showing a bit of emotion. Tobias nods awkwardly, as if he doesn't seem too keen to accept thanks, but Carlos hugs him tightly, and the man, who they learned is twenty-seven, hugs him back briefly.

"Are you sure you can walk on that ankle?" James asks, worried, and Carlos just looks at him.

"I'll be fine." Carlos says quietly. Everyone sets out, weapons in hand and stomachs closer to being full than they have been, all thanks to the man who asked for so little in return.

James remembers the argument he had with Tobias, and wishes they left on a better note.

Two hours pass, and Logan's stomach twists because they still haven't found Tyler, after upturning every single trash can in their path. He kicks a rock, and Kendall slows his pace to walk with him.

"You okay?" Kendall asks.

"Would you be?" Logan responds, lifting a trash can lid in doubt, to find it filled with three-week-old garbage.

"I'm not one to talk, but," Kendall starts. "Shouldn't you listen to what Tobias said? About not blaming yourself?"

"You're right, you're not one to talk." Logan brings a laugh out of both boys when he changes the subject, but suddenly he thinks of something. "Do you think Tobias was hiding something from us?"

"Hm?" Kendall almost grunts. "Why would he hide something from us? Do you think we're missing something?"

"I'm just speculating that we are." Logan bites his lip, since he is hiding something from Kendall, so he spills his reasons just before the blonde speeds up to his spot at the front of the group. "He seems too kind, too eager to offer us something; I feel like he has to hide something so he's making up for it to clear his guilty conscience; and I know that sounds crazy but..." He sighs.

"Relax, Logan." The leader of the four laughs. "But I think you're doubting the lengths to which people's kindness can go." When Logan smiles, Kendall heads back to the front of the group.

* * *

**A/N: Before any of my fellow _Criminal Minds _fans ask, I kind of stole the line; "I'm just speculating that we are." from an episode of _Criminal Minds_; "With Friends Like These" I don't know if it's technically 'stealing' though. Anyway, please review and leave suggestions for the story! Thank you. **


	11. The Library

"Pack of 9." Kendall, who is the head of the group with Lucy, calls. Soon all but one are dead, and it has taken about seven bullets to the head. It's about six feet away when they realize something is wrong.

"What the h#ll!?" James shouts out, runs past Lucy, grabs the metal bar, and sprints past the zombie, hitting it in the head and knocking it down. It groans and begins sitting up, but he runs back over, puts his foot on it's chest, and leans down.

"Good night, freak." James bashes the creature's head in, blood splattering back up on him, and a small amount flies back to the group, causing Jett and the Jennifers to gag.

"Let's keep going." Lucy mutters, looking over her shoulder at the group. "I want to find Tyler and get the h#ll back to the Palm Woods." Everyone nods, and Jennifer 2 gags again when she smells the body as they walk past it.

James returns to his position behind Lucy and in front of Jennifer 3. Logan, at the back of the group, notices Carlos, walking next to him, clenching his stomach as he walks with the walking stick they found for him.

"What's wrong?" Logan asks, slowing his pace so they're slightly lagging behind. Carlos shakes his head.

"Nothing." Carlos replies, opening a trash can and whispering; "Tyler?" He looks back at Logan, and his stomach growls loudly. Logan looks at the near-setting sun, and realizes the hunger pains in his stomach, too. They haven't eaten since that morning, and haven't stopped looking.

"Anyone else hungry?" Logan calls, and Jennifer 2 nods her head slightly, not enough for anyone to notice. James rolls his eyes.

"Please, _we_ can handle going for a short while without depleting our food supply." The sarcasm returns to James' voice, erasing the attempted kindness from that morning. Lucy raises her right fist, the one on the outside, indicating to stop, and eight tired feet pause.

"I wasn't suggesting you couldn't." Logan replies. "I was just saying I'm hungry."

"Yeah, right." James scoffs. "I know you're just lying for Carlos." Logan takes a step in his face, making the Jennifers and Jett step out of the way.

"At least I'm being a friend." Logan shoots back.

"Guys," Carlos tries to get in the conversation.

"A friend would make him speak for himself." James argues.

"Guys," Carlos repeats.

"Maybe if you would stop acting like an #ss," Logan starts. "He wouldn't have to 'confront' you."

"Well you know what?" James raises his voice.

"LOGAN, JAMES, DO YOU MIND!?" Carlos yells really loudly, and everyone turns their heads. He shifts uncomfortably on his makeshift cane, and clears his throat. "Please stop."

"Sorry." Logan murmurs, and James nods his head in apology.

"_I_ am hungry." Carlos clarifies. "Can we eat something?"

"Maybe we should wait until we camp;" Jennifer 3 suggests. "It'll be dark within the hour, and since this is after all a _search_ party, I doubt looking in the night will be much use." Carlos nods his head, and Lucy and Kendall begin moving again, with the others following close behind.

The search continues with no significant events until a half hour after sunset, when they come across a quickly evacuated library, with broken defenses that were obviously ripped down by zombies.

"James, Jennifer and I will check for Z's," Lucy instructs, looking at James and Jennifer 3. "And the rest of you just wait." Jennifer 3 hands her pack to Kendall and Lucy hands hers to Carlos. Lucy puts her back against the open-in doors, and her hand slowly moves to the handle, with her gun in the other. When Jennifer 3 and James are in position, she opens it and quickly points her gun in, before she and her partners vanish behind the doors.

Carlos walks over to one of the round parking barriers and sits down, his stomach growling loudly. Kendall and Logan set their packs down, and Carlos opens his to get food out.

"Any preferences?" Carlos asks, smiling as he pulls out a can of carrots.

"Not Spam." Kendall comments, and Carlos tosses him a pack of graham crackers. After food is distributed, Logan and Jett both start shivering.

"You okay?" Kendall asks. Logan shakes his head.

"No, I'm f#cking freezing." Jett says, and his head drops. "Sorry for cursing."

"Aren't you cold?" Logan asks, rubbing his arms.

"Yeah, but I'm not freezing." Carlos replies, and both Kendall and Jennifer nod in agreement. Logan shrugs and pulls his hood on, and Jett zips up his jacket. When she finishes eating a can of shredded ham, Jennifer 2 pulls out the hairbrush Tobias gave her, and begins brushing her hair into a bun.

"Shouldn't they be back by-" Just as Jennifer 2 starts, Lucy comes outside, pushing the door open with her back and helping James drag a paunchy dead Z with a bullet hole in it's forehead out, followed by Jennifer 3.

"Just the loner." Jennifer 3 says. She squints to make out each person in the darkness. "Aren't you cold?"

"Yes." Logan and Jett say simultaneously, then look at each other.

"Okay, everyone, Kendall and I are partnering you up." Lucy says, and Kendall nods. "Logan and Jett; both Jennifers,"

"Me and James," Kendall adds. "And Carlos, you're the leftover guy, deal with it, you're partnering with Lucy."

"Shouldn't be a problem." Jett snickers to the Jennifers, who both giggle.

"Excuse me?" Lucy asks.

"Tobias told me." Jett giggles too, and then loses it and laughs out loud.

"Shut up." Lucy rolls her eyes, embarrassed but slightly glad that they're laughing again. Unfortunately it's at hers and Carlos' expense.

"Wait, what's he talking about?" Logan asks, and Carlos looks at the ground without answering.

"Tobias gave me blankets, so we'll each get one per pair when we're inside." Kendall informs, ignoring Logan.

"He gave you his blankets?" James asks.

"The dude had like thirty." Kendall replies. "Like he said, paranoid, but to a good extent." Lucy leads the way inside, and says she and Carlos will take the first guard shift. The group spreads out.

Carlos and Lucy grab chairs and sit, facing the main entrance. After an hour, most likely about seven o'clock, the silence of slumber settles over the small library, and they know they're the only ones awake.

"Should we talk about-" Carlos starts.

"No." Lucy cuts him off.

"But-"

"Carlos please." Lucy sighs and slumps into her chair.

"Alright." Carlos sighs and his eyes look around, but eventually end up locked on the ceiling. So he doesn't notice Lucy moving in until her lips are on his own. His jaw drops a half-inch when she pulls away slightly, but then he smiles and kisses her back. Their lips stay touching for about ten seconds until Lucy pulls away, this time Carlos dizzy with joy.

"We'll talk another time." Lucy never gives him the chance to speak before turning around to watch a window.

* * *

**A/N: Well, it's obvious what one of my ships is. Please leave suggestions in the reviews for ships you want me to include/mention. I might be able to do it!**


	12. Bigger Problems

Stephanie walks cautiously through the dark halls, knuckles white as her hands grip the bar. She's just getting food, why should she be worried? She finds the door to 2J slightly ajar, which strikes her heart with worry. It feels like her fingers will snap if she holds on any tighter, yet she opens the door and walks in.

She's beating the lone Z's head in before she even realizes what's happening, tears streaming down her face. How did they get in? The door is closed no matter what, and she can't even begin to comprehend how they could. She runs upstairs without grabbing food.

"Jo, where are you!?" She cries when her friend is no where in the room. Lightning jumps up at the noise.

"Stephanie..." A voice comes from the balcony, and Stephanie hurries over, followed by the dog, to find Jo staring down at the ground. When she looks over, Stephanie sees a group of about thirteen zombies flocking and growling beneath, trying to get to their flesh.

"We've got bigger problems." Stephanie says as she pulls Jo inside and locks the door to the balcony. She tells her what happened, and Jo bites her lip.

"So now they figured out how to open doors! What should we do?" Stephanie asks. Jo sighs and looks at the ground.

[x][x][x]

Kendall wakes up to Jennifer 3 in his face, saying dawn will be there in roughly two hours. He stretches his arms, accidentally hitting James in the face.

"Sorry." Kendall says.

"Idiot." James smiles when he speaks, indicating a joke. Now Kendall realizes his friend didn't have any nightmares.

_Neither did I..._ Kendall thinks, and smiles. He and James get up and James goes to the front with the others, but Kendall says he'll be there in a minute, and walks over to the restroom, and leaves the door slightly open.

"Let's see..." Kendall turns the stiff handles, until, after a couple seconds, cool water starts running out. He sighs outwardly, and splashes his tired face. He washes the blood and dirt off his hands, and turns the tap off.

The others have already started eating, and he grabs the remaining graham crackers from last night's pack. He settles on a chair next to James, and Jennifer 3 sits on the floor near him.

"Tap works." Kendall mentions.

"Really?" Carlos asks. Kendall nods, and Carlos, Jett, and the Jennifers leave to clean up, leaving Logan, Lucy, James and Kendall. Logan is writing something down.

"What's that?" Kendall asks.

"Based on what I can cognize about the city, Tyler's behavioral facets, and the subject of the undead, I'm trying to determine the most idyllic plan of execution to locate him." Logan replies, and Kendall raises an eyebrow. Logan looks up from the paper for the first time to clarify; "I want to know where Tyler could be." Kendall nods, and Logan returns to writing and drawing.

"Carlos, you're wasting water!" Carlos snaps out of his daze of remembering his kiss with Lucy, and turns the cold water off.

"It feels so good to have water running over my fingers." Jennifer 2 sighs.

"Not for long." Jennifer 3 comments. "We're leaving soon, remember." Jennifer 2, Jett, and Carlos nod, and the four walk back to the main area.

"Let's go." Lucy swings a pack on as soon as the four get back. Kendall and Logan pick up the other two, and the group sets out, Lucy and Kendall in the lead.

Almost immediately, before they can even start looking, they hear growling in turn around to see a pack of five. James shoots two, Kendall gets one, Logan gets a fourth and Lucy shoots the last. Jennifer 3's face hardens.

"What?" Jett asks.

"She did our hair." Jennifer 3 replies, looking at a rotten body of a blonde woman slumped on the ground after she was shot.

"Okay." Logan clears his throat. "I figure, if he wants supplies, the logical place would be to a warehouse store, like a Costco."

"Okay, there's one about ten minutes from here." Lucy shrugs.

"But," Logan counters. "If we factor in the fact that he is only twelve, his subconscious might cause him to want the comfort of a building like...-"

"The library." Jennifer 3 offers.

"Precisely." Logan smiles.

"So basically two completely opposite types of places?" Kendall clarifies.

"Pretty much." Logan shrugs and nods. "I would suggest we split up, but..." He looks at the ground.

"No." Lucy says. "That's our worst possibility. Let's head to Costco." When they reach the warehouse, the big doors are open, so they walk in, guns ready. The place is trashed, more specifically the useful resources, until nothing is salvageable. Bodies lie here and there, some of them apparently killed by the living, desperately trying to survive.

"You four," Lucy points to Logan, Kendall, James, and Carlos. "Look at the west side. The rest of us will take the east wing." Her group runs off, and the boys spread through the aisles, Logan and Carlos sticking to the back, and James and Kendall taking the front of the store.

Carlos, who has recovered some since his injury, ditches the walking stick. He's walking past a messed up aisle of pretzel containers when he feels unfamiliar hands on his shoulders. He turns around quickly, hitting a zombie in the head with his gun and knocking it over. He shoots it in the forehead, and Logan rushes over.

"You okay?" Logan asks.

"I'm fine." Carlos nods at the motionless body, and Logan nods. "Thanks for having my back." They hear a shriek, nine gun shots, and they run towards the sound.

They find Jennifer 2 on her knees, with Jennifer standing at her side. A dead pack of seven lie nearby, and Jennifer 2 still holds her gun in protection. Soon Lucy runs over.

"What the f#ck happened?" Lucy puffs, out of breath.

"She just ran into a pack alone." Jennifer 3 says, and her blonde friend nods, out of breath. Lucy nods and walks away, as does everyone else. "Stop freaking out." Jennifer 2 looks up at her friend.

"What?" She asks, still breathing heavily.

"Stop overreacting." She replies firmly.

"I just killed seven people." Jennifer 2 stands to face her.

"And at one point, I killed nine." The girl older by one year walks away, leaving the younger one to continue fighting tears. She pulls it together before they spill, and soon the group leaves the building to look other places.

* * *

**A/N: So, did you like it? What relationships/arguments would you like me to put more about? Let me know in the reviews!**


	13. Caesha

James drinks a cup of water from the refrigerator of the abandoned coffee shop, disappointed that Tyler didn't sleep on one of the soft couches. Most of the food has gone bad, but they managed to get some coffee beans on Logan's and the Jennifers' insistence.

"Come on, it can help us keep going!" Logan had said, fighting for his caffeine addiction. Lucy and Kendall had rolled their eyes when the three of them almost begged.

"James, let's go." Kendall says. The group walks out, and head towards their next destination, per Logan's instruction. By sunset of the second day, the group has killed twenty-three Z's today, crossed roughly forty square miles, and haven't found Tyler.

"Let's sleep here." Lucy sighs, sitting on a small stack of tires in the empty auto-repair shop. It was a last-resort as the exhaustion put the doubt and desperation in their minds. Jett leans against a car with a beat-up bumper.

"I'm not making any objections." Jett sighs, cracking his neck.

"Alright, same partners as last night;" Kendall orders in a tired voice. "James and I take first shift." He grabs an oil-stained stool, and sits down. The group disbands, although when the Jennifers go over to their sleeping spot, neither of them lay down, and Jennifer 3 tosses her the blanket.

"You'll be freezing."

"I'll be fine."

"There's nothing to block the wind."

"I'll sleep in that old van over there." Jennifer 3 points to a beat up brown Ford a short walk down the garage.

"Someone already claimed it." She states. Jennifer 3, in response, rolls her eyes and leans against a concrete support beam, facing away from Jennifer 2, who climbs into a car which, since it's hood is up, reveals it has no battery. She can't help but wonder how comfortable it is in the van.

Logan throws Jett's arm off of him in annoyance, and Jett doesn't respond except to stir a little in his sleep. The tightly-woven carpet in the van reminds Logan of the carpet in the Palm Woods halls, and he remembers countless hours spent talk to Camille in those halls. And for the first time in a while, he truly feels the sharp pain of loss. No one has heard from his mother, and he hasn't spoken to her. They still don't know how widespread the virus is, but it can't be long until it reaches Minnesota, if it hasn't already. He curls into a ball in the corner of the van, missing his mom, missing Camille, and missing the time when he didn't have to sleep with a gun next to him.

[x][x][x]

Logan's feet are being pulled down with exhaustion. He doesn't remember how long ago the group split up, but knows the only person next to him is Carlos. But something, something not human, is hidden in the fog.

He hears growling, but doesn't know where it is, because of the fog.

"Carlos?" He asks.

"Right behind you." His friend answers. The growling gets louder, and suddenly a zombie jumps out. There's something different about it, that makes Logan's heart almost rip out of his chest when he realizes what it is.

It's Camille. It doesn't make sense; James killed her when they dropped her off. Nonetheless, she is real and moving as ever, but Logan can't muster the strength to shoot her before she bites Carlos' neck.

"Logan, what's..." The voice is drowned out.

"Carlos, no! Don't let yourself get eaten!" Logan yells. "I'm sorry!"

"Sorry for what?" The fog gets darker and thicker, until everything goes solid black, and the growling ceases.

"Letting...you..get..." Logan opens his stiff eyes to find both Carlos and Jett staring at him, bewildered.

"You okay?" Carlos asks. Logan nods, and Carlos smiles, fooled by the lie. "C'mon; it's almost dawn." Logan forces his knees to straighten and his arms to stretch out. He feels no more rested then the night before, but climbs out the van, refusing to let it show. Jett pushes past him, and Logan knows why. You could scare a bird away with the growling of his stomach. Jett felt too tired to even eat the night before, so it's been a full day since his last meal, that morning at the library.

Kendall notices Logan and Jett walking over, and his heart thrashes with anger when he sees Jett. Why? He loves Jo so much; how could he let her slip away? She turned her back on him. Maybe he shouldn't blame himself. His heart is being ripped apart, because he can't stand to even think about that kiss, when Jo made it official that she loved Jett more, yet that memory resurfaces constantly. When people start notices he's staring into nothing, Kendall changes his focus.

"Any plans for today, Loge?" Kendall asks Logan. No response as the black-haired teen just leans on a support beam, staring at the ground. "Logan?" He looks up suddenly, pupils dilated.

"What, oh." Logan clears his throat and pulls the map out of his pocket. "I- uhm, I marked places we've checked, and X'd out places I know he wouldn't go." He rubs his red-cold nose and hands the map to Kendall. Kendall takes it with a look of suspicion at his brother.

"Okay, that still leaves a whole lot of-" They hear growling and Kendall is cut off. James, Lucy, and Jett all cock their guns right away, preparing for an attack, until they see a not yet grown husky nearby. She continues growling, but more specifically at Kendall, who holds a small amount of dried beef in a plastic container. He puts it on the ground and pushes it towards the dog with his gun, who licks it up hungrily and sits down, staring at them.

"Shh, good dog." Carlos says as he walks slowly, with a bit of canned meat in his hand, towards the dog. She snaps at him, and he drops the meat. She licks it up, and then tackles Carlos.

"Carlos! Are you-" James straightens out, ready to shoot the dog at a moments notice if needed.

"Aw, good doggy!" The dog continues licking Carlos' face until he can get her off. "Let's see your name tag." He says, turning the purple collar and looking. "Caesha. You don't have an owner? Where's your owner?" He kisses the dog's head. "Can we keep her Kendall?" He turns to him.

"No..." Kendall hates sounding like a parent -even though he is the closest thing they have right now- but he does it anyway.

"Aw, please?" Carlos begs. "She's friendly." He gets on his knees and begins begging. Kendall's heart aches to do this.

"She's also another mouth to feed and a loud thing." Lucy sighs, helping Kendall out with some of the responsibility.

"Gosh, you two sound like parents." Jett sighs, and kneels down to scratch Caesha's head. Lucy's fists tighten.

"At least we're thinking sensibly!" Lucy argues. "We're not pretending it's some kind of family movie! We don't get happy ever after, and we certainly do not get a dog! I'm extremely tired and I want to find Tyler and go home." She sighs, and sits on the bumper of a car. Kendall raises an eyebrow at her outburst, and realizes it must be stress finally getting to the most calm and collected person.

"They're right." Jennifer 3 says, followed by a nod from Logan. "We can't take this dog." Carlos sighs, and nods.

"It's almost dawn; we should go." Kendall says. The group puts their remaining food away, but no one bothers with the trash. And they start walking away, but Caesha follows.

"No, stay." Kendall says, trying to swallow the knot of guilt at leaving her alone. "You know stay?" Caesha sits. "Good girl." He begins walking away again, but Caesha runs up to the Jennifers. They try to get her to stay, also, to no avail. Eventually, emotionally and physically worn, James blows up at her.

"Stay, you stupid animal!" He yells, causing her tail to duck under. "I'm sorry, but no!" Caesha whimpers and runs away. James sighs inwardly and continues.

"I'm sorry I was so rough on her." James whispers to Carlos, out of hearing range of the others once they've started moving. Carlos tells him it's fine, but really begins to wonder if 2013 James would have done that.


	14. While You Have The Upper Hand

**Sorry I haven't updated in longer than usual. School just started again, and of course that comes first. But here you go: Chapter 14!**

* * *

The sun is past its high point on the third day of searching, and no progress has been made. The icy winter air freezes Carlos' hands. But he knows they have to continue. Tyler went missing on his watch, and it's his responsibility to find him. He can't focus on the task at hand, though, no matter how hard he tries, because he keeps thinking of Lucy. He feels dizzy if he even thinks about it too much.

"Alright, we're running out of time." Lucy says. "We're splitting up, we'll meet back by this intersection, Gopher and Acacia, in about an hour, alright?" She finishes, suggesting the opposite of what she said when they left the library.

_But what choice do we have?_ Logan wonders.

"Okay, partners?" Jett asks.

"Logan and me," Lucy starts. "Jennifer 2 and Carlos, Jennifer 3 and James, and I guess that leaves Kendall and Jett."

"What?!" Jett and Kendall say at the same time. Kendall takes a step forward. "N-n-n-n-n-n-no. I'm not partnering up with him."

"Okay, you two wanna act like fourth graders, I guess you can." Lucy says. "I would assume you're mature enough, but-"

"I am mature enough!" Kendall and Jett say together, then look swiftly at each other. Jett's eyebrow twitches, his pupils are slightly shrunken, and Logan begins to wonder if he's sane.

"Great." Lucy smiles. "Let's go." The group disbands.

"What are you doing?" Logan asks once they're out of hearing range of the others.

"They aren't going to be willing to be alone, and they certainly won't say what they need to in front of others, so I made them." Lucy replies, not even looking at him. She checks under a trash can lid for Tyler. Logan shrugs. He wasn't aware the two had ever been friends, and needed to make up, but Lucy would know.

"I'm going to stay near them, though, K?" Logan says.

"Alllright..." Lucy narrows her eyes in front of her, without looking at him, and Logan walks a short distance away. He soon hears the pair talking as they walk through an alley.

"You know, I'm not talking about it." Kendall's voice is barely understandable, due to the clanging of the trash can when he looks for Tyler.

"That's the only reason Lucy teamed us up." Jett points out, pushing a large shrub aside and checking behind. "Tyler?"

"Well, that doesn't mean I'm talking about how you stole my girlfriend." Kendall mutters. Jett pushes him against the concrete wall; Logan almost jumps out to help his friend, but he knows Kendall could have pushed him off right away. No, he's not fighting because he's trying to be sensible.

"Stole?" Jett asks in his nasally voice, bewildered. "Maybe if you had been there, she wouldn't have to deal with her own problems by herself." Kendall's glare relaxes a little. His eyebrows turn upwards, and guilt crosses his face. Jett, stupid as he is, doesn't know what's going on. But he is as panicked as Kendall when a growling sounds.

A pack of six zombies stands behind them, and neither of them are ready to shoot it. Logan steps out, gun pointed, but Jett is in the way, and the zombie pack is getting closer.

"Move, you idiot!" Logan yells.

"W-what?" Panic fills Jett Stetson's voice; he's clearly freaking out. Kendall pushes him over, falls to the ground next to him, and Logan has a clear shot. He shoots the first two several times, and by the time they're dead, Kendall has lifted his gun and began shooting the others. The heads nearly explode, rotten flesh flying in specks across the alley.

Jett and Kendall look at each other. Logan gives them each a hand up. He looks between the two of them as Jett tries vainly to rub the blood out of his shirt, but soon gives up.

"This arguing is pointless." Kendall says. Jett squints at him. Kendall rolls his eyes. "Quit, while you have the upper hand. Jo obviously likes you now." Jett nods, and continues walking. Kendall forcibly half-smiles at Logan, and follows Jett. Logan walks back in the direction Lucy took.

[x][x][x]

"Why didn't you and Jennifer get partnered up?" Carlos asks his blonde partner, who looks at him with a cold glare.

"I don't know, why weren't you partnered with one of your friends?" She spits back, taking on the attitude she seemed to have lost. It almost comforts Carlos, having her being slightly spiteful again. He quickens his pace, desperate to find Tyler. The knot of guilt continues swelling; how did Tyler go missing? He turns a corner and finds a Z chewing on a dead body, eating the bloody insides. Carlos turns and pushes Jennifer back.

"Zombie. Zombie!" He warns, rushing past in an overly panicked state. Jennifer looks over before hurrying on, an unidentifiable feeling churning in her stomach. She doesn't know if it's fear, or horror at seeing the dead body, or guilt at her argument with her friend.

When they return, the sun is close to setting. Jo and Stephanie will be wondering if they're safe, and Jennifer personally has to believe that Tyler isn't out here, and he's never coming back. When she sees her sister give her a cold look as they walk up, she realizes just how crazy this entire situation is. They're in a zombie apocalypse, for Pete's sake! In all those movies she had watched because of the romance factor, they never find the missing person! How long until they lose someone? It's pure luck they haven't lost any of the search party yet.

"It's been three days." Jennifer 2 says when the last pair, Logan and Lucy, show up. "We need to get back."

"I don't know; I...I'm not sure we should give up just yet." Carlos replies. A couple others nod.

"Come, on!" Jennifer 2 grunts. "What makes you think we can find him? And won't the others be worried? Jennifer, you have to take my side on this!" She looks at her sister, who just returns a cold glare.

"I'm with Carlos." She states. Jennifer 2, formerly so fierce and emotionless, feels her jaw drop slightly and the coldness her past sister feels for her.

"So am I." James says. Everyone agrees except Jennifer 2.

"The girls will be so worried!" She begs. Kendall, thinking of Jo, steps forward.

"Maybe she's right." He says. Logan and Carlos look at him.

"You can't be serious." Logan says.

"I am." Kendall responds firmly.

"Kendall," Carlos starts, unsure of how to finish.

"Why are you so persistent?" Jennifer 2 asks.

"Because it's my fault!" Carlos blurts out, voicing the guilt he's been feeling for the past three days. When Logan and his other two brothers stare at him, Carlos lowers his voice. "It's my fault Tyler is gone."

"What?!" Jett blunders honestly, not really a worried tone, rather a baffled tone, in his voice.

"He went missing on my watch." Carlos sighs. Lucy walks over.

"Tobias was smarter than every one of us, then." She says. "Do you want to protect everyone else? Listen to him." He nods, and she wraps her arms around her neck, pulling him in for a hug.

"...tree." The second half of Jett's song is sung louder, meant for everyone, not just Jennifer, to hear. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G." Lucy pulls away from the hug, embarrassed because of Jett's childlike song, and a dazed smile is worn across Carlos' face.

"So are we going home or not?" James asks, reining in the focus.

"Maybe we should." Lucy says. A couple others nod, and Jennifer 2's is a firm nod, glad her argument was the side chosen. "But just because we are, doesn't mean we can stop looking. We'll get there, I'd say, about..." She looks at the sun. "An hour before the sun is rising, if we take our time to look around?" The others nod.

The group doesn't run into much trouble on the way back, and they reach the Palm Woods at the back of the pool while lavender moonlight gleams on their faces. They climb the fence and find the number of Z's has highly escalated. The shoot through what seems to be a mob until the lobby, and the numbers are slightly fewer, although not that much.

"Carlos, duck!" Logan shouts, and once his brother does, he shoots the three headed towards him. They've finished the herd and Kendall points something out.

"Guys, the stairs." He says, fear clear in his voice, before taking off in the direction of said steps. "Jo! Jo!" The group follow with their eyes, and find over ten Z's struggling their way up.

"What the h#ll!?" James shouts as he shoots some of the pack. "Kendall!" The group pushes through, shooting almost blindly, having lost sight of Kendall when the blonde teen ran forward.

"How did they figure this out?" Lucy calls over the noise as she shoots another.

"What matters is that we find the girls." Logan replies, kicking a Z in the gut before shooting it in the head. By the time they've reached the third floor, they've killed about thirty, and doors lay open, with flesh hanging off doorknobs and motionless undead lie in the rooms they opened themselves. Kendall pushes the door, formerly barely open, of 3I wide open. He kills about three before he realizes.

The girls are gone.

* * *

**A/N: Review for the next chapter to be up as soon as possible. Thank you! **


	15. A Situation

"Kendall, they're not here." Lucy says, calm. Kendall is trashing the rooms looking for Jo. "Kendall,"

"She has to be here!" He panics, putting his hands on his head. James grabs his shoulders.

"She's not here!" James tells him. "Now, do you think Jo would want us to stay and get eaten? No." Kendall's breathing slows down a bit, and his eyes turn red from holding tears back. Jett stands stoically at the door, next to Carlos, who wonders why he isn't freaking out.

"Grab food, and let's get the h#ll out of here." Lucy says. _Later, we can feel sorry. Not now._ She begins filling the packs with food, when Carlos brings something to her attention.

"We can't find the bar anywhere." He says.

"It doesn't matter." She replies. How could he want something so piddling?

"What about the lack of food?" Logan, who just walked up, points out. He's right. They couldn't have eaten that much in three days, especially if they were eaten. She shudders.

"You think they could still be alive?" Lucy asks. Logan shrugs. Lucy bites her lip. They can't be thinking that way. The chances they survived are trivial. She shakes her head.

"Priorities." She says firmly, walking away so Carlos can't protest. He grunts, and returns to picking things up.

Within fifteen minutes, they have all their top needs, and head downstairs. They shoot blindly, their only focus being to not hit each other. Jett half yells half shrieks when a piece of still warm flesh flies onto his face. By the time they've reached a relatively empty space, they're halfway to Palm Woods Park.

"Did anyone get-" Lucy stops dead when she sees James forcing Logan to lie down, and when she sees the green mark and missing flesh on Logan's upper arm.

"We're not losing you." James says. Carlos gives Logan his hand to crush in the pain, and James takes a knife out. He cuts off the small place where the teeth actually entered, and soon blood is gushing out. Logan has tears of pain streaming down his face as James quickly cleans the wound with some of their remaining rubbing alcohol they managed to get from 3I, and he wraps the wound up in borderline sterile bandages. Carlos' hand is bleeding where Logan's fingernails are, but the grip diminishes suddenly.

"Logan?" Carlos whimpers to his brother, who is now lying with his eyes closed, not moving. Carlos' voice is more desperate as he repeats; "Logan, answer!"

Kendall watches in horror. Could his brother really be gone? This can't be happening! He couldn't have just lost Jo and Logan? His hands instinctively go to his head, and his fingers run through his hair as he stares at where Logan lies still. Jett reluctantly cocks his gun, in the possibility of Logan's death. Jennifer 2 puts her hand on her mouth, not wanting to believe it. Then she begins nearly crying when Logan's hand twitches.

"Carlos?" Logan murmurs. "I think I just got bitten." Carlos half laughs-half mewls as his head buries itself in Logan's shirt. Logan looks at James for answers, but he just kneels down and hugs him too.

"Don't scare us, Logan." Carlos whimpers as his arms wrap tighter around the injured teen, wary of where his wound is.

"Come on, we have to find somewhere safe." Lucy points out as Carlos helps Logan up and hugs him.

"What about Tobias' place?" Jennifer 2 asks. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind us coming back, especially now that we have more supplies." Lucy and Kendall look around. Jett is wiping the blood off his face, Logan is in obvious pain, and there are wounds that still need to be treated.

"We need to find somewhere closer, at least for now." Kendall decides. Lucy nods.

"Lucy Kendall duck!" They does as told when James shouts, and bullets fly where their heads were into the skulls of four zombies.

"We _have_ to get out of here." Jennifer 3 says, a trickle of blood dripping from her forehead down across her left eye, which is closed because of it. The others nod, and they begin walking towards the center of the park, Carlos helping Logan.

They've been walking for five minutes when Lucy collapses into James, who catches her. He takes her jacket off, and sees the fresh wound she had been using her jacket to cover until now.

"Well, I guess jackets don't serve as temporary bandages." She laughs. She tries to stand again, but falls, so James scoops her up without a word and they continue walking, too uncomfortable with the closeness of that large pack to treat her wound.

It's been about another five minutes when they hear a thump behind them, followed by a second one. They turn and see a shape in the shadows of a couple trees, and hear a voice directed at Kendall.

"We've got a situation." He would know that light voice anywhere.

Jo.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry it's a small chapter; I just had an outline of what I wanted this chapter to be, and it was shorter than I first speculated. But I hope the cliffhanger has you on the edge of your seats! Reviews are most welcome! **


	16. Jo

Jo runs straight into Kendall's arms first, and Carlos feels the betrayal steaming off of Jett, for good reason. When she finally breaks away, Jo looks at Kendall.

"Things are really bad there." Jo warns.

"We know." Kendall says to Jo, and quickly explains recent events. Jo looks at James carrying Lucy, and adds; "Care to explain?"

"She needs medical help." James replies as Stephanie walks out of the bushes, carrying Lightning. His back left paw is completely bloody, and he has blood all over him.

"What happened to him?" Carlos asks as he hurries over to Stephanie and the dog.

"A pack of Z's on a rampage tipped a vending machine over onto him." Stephanie answers, petting Lightning.

"On a what now?" Logan asks, face still twisted in pain.

"We don't know, actually." Jo replies, still glued to Kendall. "Sometimes they'll just run through the lobbies and apartments trashing everything."

"Can we get a move on?" Jennifer 3 comments, holding her bloody eye. "A lot of us need medical help." Jo, Kendall,and a halfway out of it Lucy nod.

"We've been staying in a coffee shop about five minutes from here." Stephanie informs, adjusting her grip on Lightning so he's more comfortable.

"Why'd you come back?" Jennifer 2 asks, bewildered.

"We thought we'd try and get more supplies, but obviously that's not happening." Jo remarks. "And this is when we found Lightning limping around." Kendall nods, and the group follows Stephanie and Jo to the coffee shop.

[x][x][x]

Lucy lies with her stomach down on a small brown couch, and Jo is still wrapping up the cut on Jennifer 3's eye, which turned out to go from the top right of her forehead to start a cut on her left eye. Jett has a mark on his face and James has too many fresh cuts on his limbs, in addition to half of his lower right pant leg missing, to know where each one is from, or even distinguish what blood is from which wound. Lightning lies, almost completely covered in bandages, on a soft yellow chair while Carlos tries to keep him from moving.

Logan, though, is the most hurt. He lies on another brown couch, not moving and barely breathing, with James and Kendall right by his side, getting him everything he needs.

"You need to be more careful, stupid." Kendall says. "How'd this even happen?" Logan's lip moves a little, but his voice his barely audible.

"Don't..." He takes a deep breath. "Remember..." He shifts a little, and gags, like he almost threw up. Kendall takes his brother's hand.

Lucy shifts on her couch and moans. She's awake, but doesn't realize the sounds she's making are painful to hear. Lightning has fallen asleep, so Carlos walks over to Lucy.

"Wanna hear a story?" He asks. Lucy groans in response, so Carlos stays quiet, and just sits by her. After a couple minutes of whimpering and moaning in pain, Lucy falls asleep. Carlos' eyes flicker to where Jett is leaning against a wall, a pouty face expression and his eyes on Kendall. Carlos is taken in shock when he feels sympathy for Jett. Jo loved Kendall, then Jett, and now Kendall again.

_Maybe Jo isn't so great._ Carlos wonders. He pats Lucy's head and walks over to James. He taps him on the shoulder.

"Can, can we talk?" Carlos nervously says, as if Kendall knows what he needs to talk about.

"Sure thing, shorty." James says, although the lack of smile just confuses Carlos more. They walk into the small back room to talk. Carlos can't talk for about two minutes, when James finally says; "Carlos, what is it?"

"Do you think...do you think Jo is..." Carlos swallows the lump in his throat. Jo is such a nice girl, but it seems like she's breaking a lot of hearts. "B-bad?" He winces at the fierce expression James shows at that. He continues; "For..Kendall?"

"What are you saying?" James asks in less of a hushed voice. "That she should have stayed with Jett? I personally don't think it's any of our business."

"Since when have you _not_ meddled in our love lives, '_Dr. Love_'?" Carlos accuses.

"How did you know about that?" James spits, remembering the occasion on which he said it.

"Katie told me!" Carlos says. He suddenly begins scanning James' face for emotion, because mentioning Katie around any of his three brothers, Carlos knows is a touchy subject. But James face remains emotionless. "And anyway, I just think Jo is too, well, you know."

"What?! I know what?" James growls.

"Flip-floppy!" Carlos confesses. "She needs to make up her mind."

"Hey, Jett has always been a misogynistic #ss!" James replies forcefully, and Carlos worries that someone heard, and prays to who knows what god that it wasn't Jett. "Jo went to him because Kendall was struggling, but now he's not!"

"Figures you would take the side of someone who uses people's hearts to get what they want!" Carlos spits back. James' brows furrow.

"What does that mean?" He hisses. Carlos quivers a second, but straightens out.

"Back in the Palm Woods, you used girls left and right." Carlos retorts to James, who used to be his closest friend. " And you have the nerve to call _Jett_ misogy-whatever!" His face gets hot when he can't pronounce the right word, but he continues staring at James, who storms back into the main room. Carlos follows. James grabs a gun and storms out, not letting anyone protest.

The Jennifers, Kendall, Logan, Jett, and most horrifyingly, Jo, stare at Carlos with mixed expressions: anger, disbelief, and confusion. Kendall stands, and Logan's eyes follow him as he walks over to Carlos, who shrinks down a bit.

"Why are you talking about Jo like that?" Kendall growls, and Carlos' eyebrows point upward like a terrified puppy. "Yeah, I heard! We all did!" Carlos' jaw drops slightly.

"Jett nearly killed you when you two were arguing when we split up!" Carlos comments. Jo watches as Kendall towers over a terrified Carlos. Her stomach twists in guilt as she thinks about his arguments. _Is_ she being too flip floppy? Carlos makes another remark she didn't catch, but what she does catch is Kendall's hands tightening into fists and Jennifer 2 pulling Carlos out of the way, and sending him to the back room to let Kendall cool off. Kendall storms outside.

"What did he say?" Jo whispers to Jennifer 2 when things have calmed down a bit.

"If you really cared about either of them, you'd just choose one and stop acting like a 'beach'." Jennifer puts air quotes around 'beach' indicating that Carlos didn't curse but she also knows what he meant. Jo sits on a couch with her knees up to her chest, kicking off her shoes to just be in her socks. She rests her head on the tops of her knees, distressed that she could have just lost the love of Jett and Kendall, and the friendship of Carlos.

[x][x][x]

"What the f#ck are you doing out here?" James walks over to Kendall, who sits on a curb, gun in hand.

"Why do you think?" Kendall replies. "Carlos is acting like an #ss." James scoffs and sits down.

"Our leader is cursing now, is he?" James smiles, for some reason unknown to Kendall.

"What's his problem?" Kendall sighs. James shrugs. "Maybe I'm being too hard on him."

"Why, what'd you do?" James asks, taking a sip of water from a plastic bottle.

"I would've punched him if Jennifer hadn't stopped me." Kendall knows he was too harsh on him when James widens his eyes in surprise. Kendall's head tilts back to face the sky, but his eyes close as he groans and says; "Oh, he must hate me!"

"Probably not." James sighs. "I mean, he cared enough to make sure you were alright. And since when does he hold a grudge? I slapped him, back when..." He swallows, trying to find a good word for when things were better. "...in 2012...and he didn't stay mad."

"This is different." Kendall says.

"How so?" James asks.

Kendall's response shocks James; "He might be right about Jo."

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, having doubts, are we Kenny? [so sorry] If you'd like to know Jett's take on the situation, let me know in da reviews! Thanks for reading! **


	17. Kisses and Coughing Fits

"What..." James' jaw drops at his brother's statement. "In the name...of h#ll..." Kendall's eyebrows furrow in disappointment at the reaction, even though James is just shocked.

"I don't know..." Kendall stares at a crack in the asphalt, the chilly air freezing him to the bone without his jacket on. "I mean, she hasn't even spoken to Jett, that I know of, since we got back. I know that must have hurt him."

"Now you're siding against Jo?" James rises to his feet, and Kendall follows. "_You,_ of all people?" He sighs and shakes his head. "Do what you want."

"That wasn't your response to Carlos." Kendall comments. James looks sharply at him.

"Because I was defending you." James defends. "But now I see you agree." Kendall groans in frustration.

"I don't know if I do yet!" He grunts. "Don't say anything to Jo or Carlos, please?"

"Okay, it's not like #sses to keep secrets, but..." James kicks a rock.

"Are you _seriously_ bringing up our argument from the crib _now_?" Kendall fumes at his arrogance. James smiles.

"Just messing with you." He brings a half-smile to Kendall's face, but the dark, upturned eyebrows stay the same. Soon the smiles leave, and they walk back to the coffee shop.

"Hey Jo." Kendall smiles when he sees his girl, despite the fact that he can feel Jett watching them, and hear him when he storms off into the back room.

"Hey, Kendall..." Jo looks at the floor. Kendall puts his finger under her chin and makes her look at him.

"You aren't listening to what Carlos said, are you?" He asks. "We agreed a long time ago he's nuts." He finishes with a smile, and Jo leans her head against his chest.

"We should all be getting some rest." Jennifer 3 announces, and murmurs of agreement ripple through the shop. All the teens find places to sleep, Kendall, James, and Jo with Logan, Carlos near Lucy, Jennifer 2 and Stephanie, who's holding Lightning, on a couch near them, and Jennifer 3 and Jett guarding.

[x][x][x]

Lucy wakes up to pain in her back, and remembers. It looks like dusk outside. Everyone must have been sleeping all day. Jennifer 3 is leaning against a little table, like she was supposed to be guarding, and Jett is sprawled out near her, a bit of drool coming out of his mouth.

Carlos is sitting on the floor with his head against Lucy's couch, his hand flopped on top of her head, and his mouth open. When Lucy involuntarily moans quietly in pain, his eyelids flutter open to reveal two dark, gentle, and tired irises. He smiles, his eyes an inch away from her face.

"You okay?" He stretches. She nods, and Carlos pats her knee. He sighs softly at the sight of the two 'guards' sleeping. "Can't blame them, I guess. They moved a bunch of tables and boxes to help block the door, and it must have taken everything out of them." Lucy looks at the arrangement; it's set up in such away that you can't move anything from the outside, save for a single chair they could easily push away.

"Where are you going?" Lucy asks, curious, when Carlos yawns and stands up.

"Getting some water." He replies. "You thirsty?"

"I can get some myself." She starts getting up, but her face twists in pain.

"Maybe that's not...heh..." Carlos nervously says, not sure if she'll listen. "Such a good idea." She gives him a _really_ look.

"I can handle myself." She walks towards the counter, and Carlos trails like a lost puppy. They get some water, and Lucy lies down again.

"Now, relax?" Carlos whines quietly, not wanting to wake anyone up. He sits on his knees by the couch, so he is face-to-face with Lucy, who is lying on her side on the rough cushion. His lips part slightly when she moves in for a kiss, and his heart beats faster when they meet. They kiss for a couple seconds, until he pulls away.

"Rest." He says firmly, and this time she listens, although Carlos feels guilty when she winces as she lies on her stomach, to keep from aggravating the wound. She lies with her eyes closed, almost asleep, when they hear a loud sneeze.

Kendall, James, and Jo look up when Logan sneezes, and has a mini coughing fit. Jo gets him some water, and when she gets back, his eyes are red and sparkling with tears of pain.

Kendall sighs, holding the cup for him to drink out of. He begins shivering to no end, and Carlos gets up to hunt for something warm. He finds a throw blanket for one of the decorative couches in a supply closet, and brings it out.

"He's paler." Jennifer 2, who had walked over while Carlos was gone, comments. Logan's eyebrows are furrowed in discomfort, obviously at the sickness. Kendall nods at the others silently, indicating they need to talk, and leave Carlos to tend to Logan shortly.

"You think he could have the plague?" Jo wonders quietly, her eyes darting to where the sick boy lies, still shaking like a leaf, even with the blanket.

"It's not the same symptoms Camille had." Kendall says. "She was throwing up blood. He's eaten, and hasn't puked the least. And she wasn't cold; she had a fever."

"Maybe he's just sick." James suggests, lips still pressed in that unending frown.

"James cleaned out the infected area pretty quickly," Jo starts. "But some of it is bound to have found its way into his bloodstream; he's just weak from fighting that off."

"In that case, we can't leave unless it's an emergency." Jennifer 2 says firmly, trying to sound confident, even though the fear of losing another, even someone she never knew well, is completely terrifying her.

"She's right." Kendall nods. The group walks over to Logan again. His nose is running, and his eyes are shut tight, with thin, barely visible streams of tears running down his face.

_Oh, Logan._ James thinks. _Please be okay._ He pulls a metal framed chair over, and puts his head in his hands as he sits down next to his ill friend.


	18. Something Isn't Right

**A/N: It hasn't been too terribly long, but I haven't updated in longer than my usual amount of time(except for Big Time Arena, but that's something else. Anyway) so, sorry for that. Also, this chapter is a _bit _of a filler? Anyway, here you go: **

* * *

Gasping and gulping sounds around noon alert everyone to Logan. Kendall helps him sit up, and after a minute or so, Logan curls up on his couch again quietly. Jo strokes his face gently to calm him down. He's still quivering, so Kendall gets up to get him some water.

They've been in the coffee shop a week, and have fought off three attacks, due to the clear glass that allow Z's to see right in. The food they managed to scrape up from the apartments and the store will be gone in a couple days.

Carlos, Kendall, and Jo haven't said anything, and nothing has changed from the way it was before Carlos said what he did. It's a subject no one speaks about. Jett has been so distracted by a cold he's trying to fend off that he hasn't been too upset, or at least hasn't shown it. And Jett isn't known for hiding emotions.

_But something still isn't right._ James thinks. There's that air of unspoken and subconscious anger and mistrust that he felt in the air after his fight with Kendall back at the Palm Woods. That's gone now, but it only intensifies his worries. Is this how it will go from now on? Waiting for things to fizzle out and grow hazy instead of saying anything?

_I should talk to someone._ He thinks. But his heart aches when he thinks of the first person he would have wanted to talk to: Katie. She wasn't just a little sister to Kendall; the four are brothers, and she was their baby sister, too.

The coughing and wheezing breaks James' thoughts, and he turns to see Logan, coughing his lungs out. His face is pale and his eyes are red. Kendall holds the cup to Logan's mouth, who finishes the water. Lucy takes the empty cup and goes to refill it. She's recovered some, not enough to be moving around, in James' opinion, but she was stubborn.

"Shh, it's okay." Jo whispers when Logan begins cry-whimpering. It's not voluntary; he's doing everything mindlessly, like some sort of-

"Zombie." James whispers the word to himself, hoping no one heard. He doesn't want to think about it being a possibility. Everything is going wrong already; Buddha Bob died, Tyler is gone, the Jennifers [number 3 has bandages covering her ruined eye socket, not to mention] are in a fight, Lucy, one of their strongest fighters, is injured, their brains, Logan, is halfway to death, and for Pete's sake they're in a zombie apocalypse!

James kicks a box behind him with his heel, not intentionally, just out of building up tension, and Jennifer 2 glances over. She walks towards him as she finishes redoing her blonde hair in a ponytail. He rolls his eyes, but she crosses her arms at him.

"What's up with Mr. Box Abuser?" She frowns.

"It was an accident." James defends.

"But that face you made wasn't." She replies. James doesn't say a word. Jennifer huffs. Then she turns to the majority of the shop and announces; "James and I decided we'll look for some food."

Stephanie glances at Logan's wound on his arm before saying; "Please be careful."

"And be back before sunset." Kendall instructs. James nods and walks out, Jennifer behind him. Although he doesn't know what they're doing, at least it's not too strange. They've gone out to search for food before, just not the two of them.

The cold beginning-of-February air hits James' skin, and he immediately wishes he had a jacket with him. At least he thinks it's February. He lost track of the dates awhile ago. Does it matter? They walk for about five minutes in silence, luckily not encountering any of the undead. Jennifer abruptly stops.

"What are we doing?" James asks. The scent of the dead that is accompanied always by the scent of the sweetest flowers hits James' nose upon stopping, and it twitches.

Leaning against a wall, Jennifer replies; "Go do your thing, where you blast zombie heads off." James raises an eyebrow.

"What the h#ll are you talking about?"

"Come on, James!" She groans, taking a step forward. "You can't seriously believe we didn't know!"

"I had a nagging suspicion..." James sighs. He expects her to reply; instead she stares at him for a minute, before he breathes in deeply and walks away, towards the grumblings of a pack.

When he's gone, Jennifer sighs to herself; "That guy needs to take a break more often."

* * *

**A/N: Whaaaatcha doin' Jennifer? What do you think she's doing? Is she generally trying to help him, even though this is dangerous? OPINIONS IN THE REVIEWS PLEASE. Thanks!**


	19. Logan's Theory

**A/N: Ugh. I haven't updating enough lately. Not for my Warrior Cat story, or my other BTR one, or my Spongebob one. But here's a new chapter. Warning: It actually hurt to write this. **

* * *

"Hey James, you've been gone awhile. It'll be dusk in a couple hours." Jennifer remarks as James walks over, sweaty and worn out. He gives her an angry look, and she starts walking in the direction away from the coffee shop.

"Where are you going?" James asks, wiping his forehead.

"We're lying to them about this, should probably look for some food anyway." Jennifer replies, not even turning around. James follows quickly and catches up to her. They hear growling, and Jennifer flashes her glance towards James, who has a sly smile on his face. She begins hoping for his sanity when he bolts in the direction of the sounds. She follows, at a slower pace, until she hears him curse. Really loudly.

"Jennifer!" She hears him shout in a higher pitched voice than normal. She runs over, to find James kneeling, with a small figure lying in his lap. A zombie, that James must have shot, lies motionless on the ground nearby.

"It really hurts." When the figure looks up at James and speaks, Jennifer recognizes the twelve year old immediately.

"Tyler!" She gasps, and hurries to James side. When she gets closer, she sees a huge, bloody, obviously zombie-caused wound on Tyler's neck, and the green is rapidly spreading towards his blood-splattered face.

"What can we do?" James asks, his voice quiet. He knows they can't get him back in time. Tyler's face has lost all color, and his eyes are clouded and faint.

"Make sure Lightning is okay?" Tyler asks. Jennifer remembers the time he spent crying on the couch for his dead mother, and the dog becoming his therapy. James nods in reply, holding Tyler. Tyler lets out a faint whimper before completely stilling. After a couple seconds of realizing what just happened, James looks up at Jennifer.

"I can't believe he's dead." James murmurs. Jennifer holds back tears. This is impossible. They can't go back and just tell them what happened. They lost another kid. Then Jennifer realizes. Another kid. Katie was the first. James already blames himself for her death; now Tyler died in his arms?

James stands, and carries Tyler's body over to an empty refrigerator box. He puts it in, and closes it.

"I don't think he'll wake up, undead even," James explains. "But I don't want them getting his body." She nods, and the two start walking back. When they're a block away, Jennifer stops.

"We have to figure out what to tell them." She says.

"Okay."

"No, I mean, we have to make sure they take it well." Jennifer sighs. "Um, as well as possible..."

"What do you have in mind?" James asks.

"We tell them straight out, everyone at once, and we tell them together." Jennifer replies firmly.

[x][x][x]

James opens the door and walks in, followed by Jennifer. Stephanie, Kendall and Jo are talking, Lucy is trying to get Lightning to eat, and Logan, Carlos and Jennifer 3 are sleeping. Jett must be in the back doing something.

"Hey!" Stephanie smiles cheerfully, indicating that they weren't speaking of anything important.

"Ahem." James clears his throat. Everyone looks him, and Jett steps out of the back room. His nose is red and he has bags under his eyes, reminding them of his cold. Kendall wakes Carlos and Jennifer 3. James stutters trying to start, and nudges Jennifer.

"Uh-um, well, we..." Looking at Carlos' expectant face, and Stephanie's relaxed one, Jennifer caves. "We were talking, and decided something." James looks at her with a blank expression, although he's confused. She continues; "No more search parties." Murmurs of concern rise, and Kendall speaks up.

"What?" He asks.

"We never found Tyler, and it's pointless." Jennifer huffs. "You heard what happened to, whatever her name is, Kelly."

All four of the old band members tense. Not only is Kelly gone, they most likely lost Gustavo, too. Carlos pulls his knees in close, James tightens his fists, and Kendall and Jo lean against each other; comfort each other. Only Logan doesn't respond obviously, just lying there with his eyes shut tight against the pain.

"Yeah, so...that's it." James sighs.

"Are you not telling us something?" Jo steps towards the two, both of them standing awkwardly as she faces them.

"No." James pushes past her to the back. Jennifer 2 follows, not worried about the others being suspicious.

"What the h#ll was that?" James demands after shutting the door.

"Hey, you got scared, too!" Jennifer argues. James grunts in umbrage. They hear a knock on the door, and Carlos walks in.

"What do you want?!" James growls at him, still partially upset about what happened with Jo, but mostly his strong feelings about what just happened take over his voice.

Kendall walks in; "What happened out there?" James and Jennifer walk to the main room, where everyone is waiting expectantly. Jennifer sighs and says it straight; "We found Tyler." No one even flinches. By now they can tell what happened. She feels the tears threatening to surface, and her sister glares at her in a negative emotion that's impossible to read. James relays what happened, and Lightning whimpers and nuzzles his way into Lucy's arms.

Something makes a grunting noise, and all eyes turn to where Logan is struggling to sit up and face James. Jo tries to make him lie down, but he doesn't.

"You're saying..." It takes a good effort, but he faces James. "He came near our base, you found him minutes before he died, and he died in your arms?"

"Yes..." James looks at the floor. What reason could he possibly have to make him relive it?

"D#mn!" Logan says, and Jo's jaw drops slightly. Kendall raises an eyebrow at him. Logan explains in a tired, strained voice; "Didn't the near same thing happen with Buddha Bob? Carlos?" Carlos nods slowly in skepticism and glances at where a duct-tape plunger lies with the supplies they managed to scrape up. His heart aches for his dead friend, and he returns his eyes to Logan.

"Come on, it has to just be coincidence." Jo points out, and Stephanie nods in agreement.

"But T-Tobias said..." Logan breathes in deeply to keep hold of his focus and his last meal as he feels a sudden stab of pain where he was bit. "He said Kelly showed up awhile after she went missing." The others look around for reactions. Could there be some significance to their loved ones showing up?

"This is crazy talk;" Jett argues after a minute. "What about Tyler's mom?"

"I don't know." Logan says, then turns pale abruptly. He lies down again, leaving the other survivors to ponder on the possibility that they're being played by a greater force.


	20. Broken Records

**Hooray for 20 chapters! **

* * *

Kendall observes the thoughtful and confused faces of his peers. They can't process what Logan just suggested. They always thought that if someone of greater power was torturing them, it was either fate or the devil himself. But if there is any meaning behind this, that means they could possibly get help.

"Come on, you think this really means something?" Jett says rather loudly when everyone stays in their quiet trains of thought.

"You don't?" Carlos asks bluntly. "It's pretty convincing."

"You were convinced for a week that a parrot could tell the future." Jett debates. Carlos stays quiet, and Jett furthers his argument; "And besides, Logan isn't in his right mind!"

"Well, we shouldn't rule anything out." Kendall states.

"Of course _you'd_ argue with me, Kendall." Jett mutters.

"Excuse me?" James says. He walks over in anger, not recognizing what he's about to reveal. "Maybe you should know something Kendall said when Carlo-"

"James!" Kendall spits out.

"What? I'm defend...ing...you." He realizes what a mistake it would be to say it.

"Look, we're getting off track here." Kendall brings the focus back. "It's not important that they're returning already halfway to hell, what's important is that we don't let them go missing!" The conversation ends on that note, but James knows the silence is not forever. They'll have to talk about it at some point.

_[x][x][x]_

"Come on, Katie." James says, holding tightly onto her wrists. His feet are slipping. Any second now, they'll both fall. Fall to their deaths. The Z's are growling and drooling below, waiting for food.

"James, I don't want to die." Katie whimpers. He shakes his head. His feet slip. And his head snaps.

_[x][x][x]_

"Katie!" James screams at the top of his lungs. Logan, who James is sitting near, stirs, but no one wakes up. Blonde Jennifer, the guard for now, walks over. She sits down next to James, who is sitting on the floor. She leans against Logan's couch.

"It's okay." She says, patting his shoulder. He calms his breathing down, and looks at her.

_D#mn, she's pretty._ His eyes widen after that thought. _What?!_

"Something wrong?" She asks.

"No..." He sighs. "Remember when we broke each other's record?"

"Yes." She laughs. "Why?"

"Has anyone else broken up with you?"

"No." She shakes her head. "You?"

"Nope." He replies. "Unless you count Lucy."

"I don't; you never dated."

"In theory, if we got back together, would our records be fixed?"

"In theory." She looks at him mischievously. "Why, planning on fixing your record?"

"Perhaps." James smiles. She smiles back, leans over, and kisses his cheek.

"I'll fix it later, then." She stands and walks away, and James, shocked, puts his hand on the spot she kissed. He takes a deep breath, and then sighs in happiness.

* * *

**Really short. Let me know, Jennifer/James: Yes or ick. **


	21. Someone Is Going To Kill Jett Eventually

"Hey, look what Lucy found!" Carlos strides happily into the coffee shop after a late morning hunt for food, proudly wearing his old helmet. Lucy walks in behind and rolls her eyes. Everyone but Jennifer 2, who is sleeping after taking the night guard, is awake and looks over.

"It's nearly split down the middle." Jo comments on the huge crack in the exterior.

"Did you wrestle it from a dog?" Kendall squints at the teeth marks on the side of it.

"Come on, it's fine!" Carlos moves abruptly as he speaks, causing the helmet to break in half and the left side falls to the floor. Kendall raises his eyebrows at him. "I'll fix it!" Carlos argues, then kneels down to pick up the broken half before marching not-so-confidently into the back room. Lucy follows, commenting to Jo; "He's gonna need some help."

Jo rolls her eyes, annoyed slightly by Carlos' antics but happier that things could be getting back to a better mood. If only Logan were better. He curled up on the couch several hours ago after throwing up his small portion of broth. James is taking care of him for now.

_[x][x][x]_

Logan shifts. Everything is blurry; maybe because his eyes are half-closed. He wants to sit up. Stephanie and Kendall are whispering and looking at him; of course they're talking about him. The pain isn't really bugging him, but it keeps showing on his face.

_Kill me now._ Logan begs whatever is keeping him alive for torture. James told him he's getting better. _Like I should believe that sh#t._ He repositions his arm, and sees something outside of the glass window. A man. In a suit. And he has a massive gun. Logan stares intensely at him until the man looks over. Logan blinks a couple times, and the man is gone. Hallucinations. Is that what just happened? _Camille, just come get me!_ He cries out silently to the girl he knows won't hear.

_[x][x][x]_

"Logan, what's wrong?" James glances in the direction Logan is staring at, to find nothing is out there. He looks back to see Logan has collapsed back onto the couch, and looks on the verge of crying. James shakes his head. _He needs real help..._

He collapses into a chair, stressed out. Lightning hops onto his lap, pulling on his bandages with his front paws. James pulls on them a bit, and unwraps them. His head is missing most of the fur, and the skin is dark red and scuffed, but well enough to not be wrapped in bandages. Lightning licks James' face then hops down, scampering over to his water bowl. He sighs. At least _Lightning_ is getting better. He glances at Logan, who lies there, clenching his stomach. _D#mn you, Logan. Get better._

Jett walks over to Logan, and pokes him. Lucy tells him to knock it off. Jett replies; "I'm seeing if he's alive!"

"Y-you mean..." Carlos, who walked out after an hour of trying to fix the helmet, starts nervously. "He could be...dead?" His face turns pale and he collapses into Stephanie, who catches him. Kendall helps him to his feet.

"Come on, you didn't know it's a possibility?" Jett reasons. Lucy gives him an angry look when Carlos' legs give out, sending him into Kendall. Kendall sits him on the floor, and Jett kneels down next to him when he finishes. "Emphasis on _possibility_. I'm not saying he's dead, Carlos." Carlos, eyes closed, nods in a spastic manner. Jett nods and strides, unfazed, into the back.

"#sshole!" James yells after him. Jett responds by, not turning around, flipping the bird. James gasps slightly. Lucy crouches down next to Carlos, rubbing his arm and telling him to calm down. James continues; "I say we kill him now." He grabs a gun.

"Wouldn't be a problem..." Brunette Jennifer murmurs, not loud enough for anyone to hear. Jo grabs James shoulder.

"_Don't _kill him." Jo sighs.

"Why not?" James argues with strong emotion, which with him, is indicated by a high pitched voice. "What good has he done in the past two months to help our situation?" The group exchanges looks without a word, and Blonde Jennifer sighs and walks up to James.

"Don't kill him, because I need to talk to him later about something." She whispers. James grunts, then nods. Jennifer walks confidently away. James walks in a different direction, commenting to Jo as he passes her; "I am going to snap his neck eventually," before lying on a couch. Jo sighs outwardly, secretly happy that someone else is so frustrated with Jett.

* * *

**A/N: Not a terribly long chapter, but I think it was at least funny. As always, reviews mean a lot to me, so make sure to leave one. Thanks, readers. **


	22. Pistol

Loud gunshots snap Carlos awake. It's the middle of the afternoon, a few days after he found his helmet. About twenty Z's are in and around the store, with more coming. He grabs a gun and stands in front of Logan, who is sitting bolt upright, unable to help. Lightning barks at the creatures trying to break in to end their lives.

"Why are there so g#ddamn many?" James yells, blowing the heads off three with one bullet.

"Does it matter?" Brunette Jennifer asks, shooting another. Her shooting partner, Stephanie, kills four, and bloody, filthy, green flesh spatters back onto them.

"No!" Kendall doesn't let anyone else answer. More are flooding in. James, his partner, spins at the same time as he, keeping their backs against each other for protection. Jennifer 2 aims her pistol shakily, and tries to fire at a zombie headed towards her, but her gun jams. She retracts her arms quickly and attempts to fix it. The Z is getting closer, when Lucy blasts it's brains out with four bullets, grabs Jennifer's sleeve, and pulls her to the ground, partially hidden by a few boxes.

"Thanks." Jennifer says, out of breath. Lucy takes the gun and begins trying to fix it. She hands Jennifer her own gun for protection, and Jennifer takes it quickly.

"Watch my back, J." Lucy orders, and the blonde teenager stands. The undead are fairly distracted, and she stands there trembling slightly. She hears growling to the front and right side of her, and she gets startled. She shoots it in the head, but bumps into a box that falls and hits her, causing her to fall over. This attracts the attention of another Z, who begins hobbling over to Lucy. When she was hit, the gun slipped out of her hand, and as the monster limps over, it unknowingly kicks it away.

"Lucy!" Jennifer yells her weak warning. Lucy looks up from the gun to see the Z less than a meter away. She starts fumbling desperately with the gun, trying to get it to work.

"No, no, not today!" She mutters, panicked. She tries vainly to get the Z away as it grabs her neck. It leans over to bite her, and her head and heart are pounding, when suddenly a gun goes off and it slumps onto her lap. She looks up, pupils shrunk and mouth open in shock, to see Carlos standing a few feet away, gun still pointed with both hands at where the zombie was only moments before. Lucy smiles faintly, but it fades after a second. The three wary teens look over to where James and the others are fighting off the last few undead. Once they're gone, James and Kendall start carrying the boxes that are next to Lucy over to the door.

"Anybody hurt badly?" Kendall asks. Brunette Jennifer's bandage over her eye is drenched in dark red blood, signifying that her wound is opened again. Stephanie takes her to the back, where the bandages are, and Jo helps the boys block the door. Lightning lowers his barking to the occasional growl. Carlos helps Lucy move the Z off of her, and Jennifer 2 walks over.

"I am so sorry, Lucy." She says, on the verge of breaking down. Lucy doesn't say anything, eyes still open wide and pupils dilated so the whites are half their normal size. She just nods slowly. Carlos pats her shoulder.

"You're okay now." He says in his best encouraging voice, despite the fact that his heart is racing and he's shaking more than ever. Lucy looks at him abruptly, startling him.

"Only because you saved me." She points out, still more terrified than she's been in her life or even the past few months. "If you hadn't saved me, I'd be dead because of -" Carlos elbows her in the stomach. In her panic and dismay, she forgot Jennifer was still there. "Because of this stupid f#cking gun." Jennifer sighs, somewhat sadly, pats Lucy's shoulder, and walks over to some bodies of Z's to help Jett make a pile to be removed.

"Oh my god, thank you." Lucy says to Carlos.

"No problem." Carlos says, devoid of too much emotion. But inwardly, he can't help but feel a guilty happiness at this turn of events. Yes, she nearly died, but now he's the hero, the knight in shining armor. Not just for any girl, but for Lucy. Now she has to like him, no more sudden kisses without any explanation. No, this time, it will be real.

_Right?_ Carlos wonders. He helps Lucy stand shakily and walk over to a chair. Kendall looks at her quickly, wondering why she's not helping, before realizing Lucy would never leave the work to everyone else unless she had a reason. He walks over.

"What happened?" He demands.

"Nothing." Lucy stands. "I-I'll help." She walks over to help get everything in order and Kendall, with too many things on his mind to notice her irregularity of her behavior, only comments to Carlos; "You okay?"

"As long as she is." Carlos stands confidently, and they both get to work.

[x][x][x]

By the time everything is cleaned and back into a somewhat normal order, it's raining hard and the sun is set by an hour. Everyone is asleep except for Carlos, both Jennifers, and Kendall, who offers to take the guard.

"No, I'll take it." Blonde Jennifer says, somewhat fiercely.

"Alright!" Kendall agrees, hands up in defense. He hands her his gun, and she stares at it a moment. "What, it doesn't bite."

"Bite?" She looks up quickly, and asks; "You sure this works?" Carlos sees her eyes shining, but not in joy or excitement of any kind.

"Yeah." Kendall laughs. Jennifer walks over to the front. When she can't hear, he comments to Carlos; "I knew she was scared, but she's been nuts all night."

"Leave her alone." Carlos replies, fiercer than his normal personality, before turning around and walking over to lean against Logan's couch to sleep.

"Was _everyone_ hit over the head with a baseball bat?" Kendall comments to himself, then shakes his head and lies down next to Jo.

[x][x][x]

James wakes up from his slumber shortly before midnight to find Lightning quite literally walking all over him. The dog curls up next to him, and James pets his head. He looks up to see Jennifer still guarding, leaning against the plate glass window and looking outside, gun in hand . As lightning lights up the outside, he sees tears running silently down her face. He sighs, and, petting the dog so he doesn't get up, stands and walks over.

"You're crying." James comments, making her jump. He continues; "Why? If it's about what happened with Lucy-"

"You saw?" Jennifer sniffles, wiping her eyes.

"Carlos told me." James replies. Her eyes harden, and he defends his short friend; "He was dying with a secret like that; he had to tell someone." She sighs. James wraps an arm around her shoulder and whispers; "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is!" She replies, holding back tears. "I mean, I should have been the one to almost get killed. I should have just let that d#mn zombie get me, instead of putting her at risk."

"Everyone panics sometimes." James reassures her.

"Not you." She says quietly.

"That's not true." James tells her.

"Yes it is." Jennifer sighs. "I mean, I haven't known anyone as steady and calm as you. Your only moment of weakness is when you _can't_ be helpful and strong. But I'm the opposite. And that's why..." She takes a heavy breath. "I have to tell you what I'm planning on doing."

"What? What are you doing?" James demands.

Jennifer sighs before answering bluntly; "I'm leaving."

* * *

**A/N: Remember to review, my readers!**


	23. Hollow

"Leaving?" James asks, bewildered.

"Yes." Jennifer says. "I mean, I can't stay here. I'll get someone killed!"

"But if you leave, you'll die!" James argues, grabbing her shoulders.

"Would you rather I get _all_ of them killed?" Jennifer fights. James doesn't say a word because at this moment, he couldn't bear to lose the guys. But he also can't lose Jennifer. He sighs, and brings up another point.

"What about Jennifer?" He asks, looking at where the other J is sleeping soundly.

Tears come to Jennifer's eyes as she says; "You know what she said to me?"

"What?" James asks cautiously.

"I told her that sisters shouldn't fight like this." She takes a gulp of air. "And-and she said...we're not sisters anymore." She buries her face in James' shoulder, and he stands there awkwardly patting her shoulder. Jennifer pulls back and says; "I'm just a danger to everyone."

"What about me?" James asks. "You're gonna leave me?" In response, Jennifer presses her lips firmly against his. His eyes close and he kisses her back. After some seconds, Jennifer pulls away.

"Now I'm never letting you go." James says. Jennifer sighs in exhaust with arguing.

"I'm leaving sometime around sunset." Jennifer ignores his comment. "You can walk with me a part of the way, but then I'm leaving. You tell them a zombie got me."

"They won't take it well." James says.

"I'm going to sleep." Jennifer disregards his arguments again. "Promise me you'll tell them?"

"Jennifer,"

"Promise me, James." Her voice indicates strained tears, and he nods.

"I promise."

"Okay." Jennifer walks over to a chair, pulls a blanket over herself, and snuggles in. James watches her for a second before leaning against the wall and sliding down to sit on the ground.

_D#mn you, Jennifer._

[x][x][x]

Lucy opens her eyes to see Carlos sitting next to her. He looks at here, and smiles his classic, huge grin. Everyone is up and moving, and Lucy sits up.

"Feeling alright?" Carlos asks. Lucy shrugs. "You haven't been very talkative since what happened yesterday. Why?"

"I dunno." Lucy sighs. Carlos looks more closely at her solemn expression. Darkened eyes, turned up brows.

"Okay, what is going on, Lucy?" Carlos says.

"Have you ever touched a zombie?" Lucy says.

"Yeah, I was just helping move them yester-"

"No, Carlos." Lucy says. "Have you ever had one that was moving touch you?" Carlos shakes his head. "Before that one touched me, it felt like everything was ending for me. I had so many scary, actually, _terrifying_, thoughts running through my head, but the moment he touched me, my mind went blank. I couldn't feel my heartbeat in my chest, I couldn't breathe. My will to survive vanished. I wasn't thinking anymore about you guys, who I love, anymore. I was...hollow, for lack of a better word. I wasn't scared, I didn't feel anything."

"Lucy, I'm so s-"

"And you know what the worst part is?" Lucy says. "I don't feel whole again. I've got my fight back, I'm not numb. And yet, one small part is missing. I'm not sure what."

_This is your chance._ Carlos thinks at himself. "I do." He feels a burst of confidence, and suddenly, James, Kendall, and Logan sitting nearby seeing them doesn't matter. He takes a breath, and shakily presses his lips against Lucy's. He feels sudden shame again as they come in contact, and he backs up.

"S-sorry-" But he's cut off a third time by Lucy as she kisses him back, this time fueled by confidence that Carlos was lacking. They only break away from the very long, burning moment when they hear a voice.

"Dang, Carlos!" Jett says. "That's some hot sh#t!" His voice breaks them apart, and suddenly, they're back in the coffee shop with their peers surrounding them. James sitting on the couch next to Logan, Kendall and Jo standing together, staring at them in surprise.

"So, Carlos and Lucy." Kendall says with a mischievous smile. "Like each other, then?"

"Quite a bit." James says, but Logan elbows him in the gut.

"Well, that's cute." Logan says. "But really, we don't have to fuss, do we? I mean, they like each other, it works out for them, they can't keep their hands off each other," He finishes with a sly smile, Lucy and Carlos blush bright red, and James snickers.

"Alright!" Kendall says. "Let's just leave this alone." Everyone returns to what they were doing, and Carlos falls asleep leaning on Lucy's shoulder. She sighs, and smiles now that she can like him in public.

[x][x][x]

Jennifer puts a can of soup in her bag quietly, and stands. James is leaning against the wall, covered in shadow. He insisted on taking guard to see her off, and he has to hope that nothing comes while they're gone.

"Any chance I can change your mind?" He says.

"Doubt it." She says. "You can come with me as far as Jefferson, but then you have to turn back around."

"Jennifer, this is crazy!" James says. "You can't go out there!"

"If I don't go now, I'll go at some point while you're asleep." Jennifer says. James sighs. "Now let's go." James opens the door, and she walks out. He follows right behind, praying to any deity that will listen that he can convince her not to go.

* * *

**A/N: I make myself sad...Reviews cheer me up, though! The new chapter is coming soon, and sometime not long after that, there will be a twist that could BLOW. YOUR. MIND. Stay tuned, lovely people! **

* * *

**Also, if you don't mind me advertising something, read on. If not, then just please review and fav!**

**If you're a fan of YouTube, there is a challenge forum that you might like. It is linked on the top of my profile if you want to check it out. Thanks!**


	24. When the Guilt Stares Right Back

**Pre-chapter commentary: I'm stressing myself out. Hope you enjoy. :|**

* * *

Jennifer tries to keep her head up and watching her surroundings. But every so often, she finds herself looking at the ground as she walks. She remembers the conversation James had with her ten minutes ago. The conversation she'll never forget, because it's the last one she'll ever have with him.

[x][x][x]

"_This is goodbye, then." Jennifer said. _

"_It doesn't have to be." James said. _

"_Yes it does." She replied. "Even if I wasn't a danger, I just don't think that I belong with you guys. I mean, hardly anyone ever liked me and both of my friends before this whole thing, so now that Jennifer hates me, I've got no one."_

"_What about me?" James asked. "I'm here. You mean don't belong with me?" _

"_I guess not." She said. And for once, it wasn't her tears threatening to spill at an emotionally charged moment. James nearly knocked her down when he embraced her, holding her tightly. He pulled extra ammo for her gun out of his pocket. _

"_Bye, James." She said. _

[x][x][x]

And James walked away without a word. Doesn't matter. Everything about him, the slow gait, the head turned downwards, it all showed that he didn't want to say goodbye.

_But we had to._ Jennifer reminds herself. She pauses for a moment, and sits on a curb. She runs her fingers through her hair. How on earth could this happen to her? Everyone has come to terms with what is happening to the city around them, but every once in awhile, it's hard not to just think about it. _I'm in a zombie apocalypse. _ A simple sentence that could drive anyone off the deep end if thought about too deeply.

So Jennifer doesn't. She stands up and tries to ignore it. Before she can take a step, though, something crashes into her and spins her around. She blinks a few times before seeing it.

"James, what the hell are you doing!?" Jennifer nearly screams at him.

"I decided I'm not letting you leave alone." James says, trying to catch his breath.

"What?" Jennifer crosses her arms after the initial shock has passed. "What about the other three? God knows what they'd do without you."

"Carlos is getting the hang of things, he's not so immature." James says. "Logan is getting better, and Kendall has always been the leader. They'll be fine."

"James..." Jennifer says, glancing at the ground before returning to his concerned but slightly anxious gaze.

"This can't last forever." He says. "And when it ends, I'll find them again. But right now, you need me more."

"You're sure about this?" Jennifer asks.

"Yes." James says. Jennifer nods, and they start walking again, unsure of where they're going, but knowing it can't be there.

And as they walk, James thinks of the one reason he left out. A memory from apartment 2J.

[x][x][x]

"_James, can you check on Camille?" Carlos asked. "I would do it, but I have to talk to Bitters about getting a lobby elephant, and besides, you haven't gone down there in hours." Carlos walked out of the room. _

"_Ugh." James grunted. Camille just looked a little pale and nauseous when someone last checked on her, a half hour ago. How bad could she possibly be now? She has a cell phone right next to her. _

_The sound of the refrigerator door opening and then closing caught James' attention. He looked up from his phone to see Katie in the kitchen. _

"_Hey Katie, can you check on Camille?" He asked. "I've got a stomachache." _

"_No, you do it." Katie said. _

"_I'll give you a dollar to do it." James said._

"_It's gonna take more than that." _

"_Five?" _

"_Fine." Katie said, annoyance clear in her eyes as she took the bill. The annoyance cleared away as she said; "Feel better, okay?" and walked out the door, only to run back five minutes later, clutching her neck._

[x][x][x]

That same look of concern flashing in Kendall's eyes whenever something happened to danger the group reminds James that his simple lie cost Katie's life. Because both Knight kids have always had the same eyes. Sometimes living with an awful thing you did is unbearable, especially when if you look at the person you thought was your bother, you just see your guilt staring right back. Harder.

[x][x][x]

Kendall stretches his arms and accidentally hits Jo in the face.

"Sorry." He says. The dawn light glows on her wide eyes, emphasizing her alertness.

"It's fine, but what wasn't fine was you kicking Jennifer in the face four times last night." Kendall looks at where brunette Jennifer is sitting in a chair at the end of their couch.

"Sorry." He repeats. "Speaking of Jennifers in general, where's number 2?"

"Carlos and I woke up about an hour ago, and we haven't seen her." Jett says, walking over from the food supply holding an old stale muffin.

"Or James." Carlos says, turning to wake Logan. Kendall and Jo sit up.

"You don't think that maybe..." Stephanie starts, but her voice trails off.

"I don't know." Kendall says.

Walking out of the back room, Lucy says; "They _did_ say that they didn't want anymore search parties. Maybe they don't want to be found."

"What?" Kendall says. "No, James isn't that stupid, he wouldn't...why would they...?" He fumbles over his words, unsure of if he even wants to argue. Surely if they left willingly, that's better than them being dead.

"James wouldn't leave us!" Carlos says desperately. He grabs a gun and starts towards the door. "C'mon we have to find-"

"Jett, can you-" Jennifer says, and Jett grabs Carlos wrist. He pulls him down to sit on a small table.

"Look, Carlos." Kendall says. "If this is their decision, don't bother with James abandoning his best friends." His last comment reveals hidden anger at James, which just makes Carlos more upset.

"And he's not worth looking for." Logan says. He remembers a pact between them that friends come before girls.

"Don't you guys remember when I was dating her?" Carlos asks. "She made me nuts!" He stands and gets in Kendall's face as he hisses; "She made me stop eating corn dogs!" Jett raises an eyebrow.

"They have been getting closer." Lucy says.

"Then why would _she_ want to leave?" Kendall says.

"She's a whiny b#tch." Jennifer says. All eyes turn to her in shock. Jo approaches her.

"You best friend could be dead, and that's what you have to add into the conversation?" Jo says.

"She's not my friend anymore, okay?" Jennifer says. When met with expectant glances, she explains. "Before we moved to LA and met the other Jennifer, we went to the same school. She always stole my boyfriends and once she put slippery tape on the bottom of my cheerleader shoes so I'd slip and fall everywhere. She apologized when we got the chance to move, but just kept it up. So I met her equally and stole her best friend in LA, Jennifer. We fought over her as our best friend before the third friend made us come to an agreement. Things were never perfect, and I guess trying to live through something as freakish as this just broke the camel's back."

Everyone looks round, speechless at this reveal of information. Well, except for Jett.

"What? You guys honestly thought that the quote-unquote," Jett says. "'Popular' kids like each other? Nope, it's a classed system, popularity. And you have to work hard to be part of the upper class." Kendall exchanges a glance with Logan. They never realized how stupid worrying about popularity is until now that their very lives are at stake and Jett still acts like the former matters.

"Well, we should wait a few hours before doing anything hasty." Jo says. Carlos falls back into a chair and Kendall sighs. His best friends are falling to pieces before his eyes. Something crazy will have to happen before anyone is close to the spirits they used to be.

* * *

**So...What do you think? Let me know by reviewing and favoriting. Don't worry, their paths may cross again sometime in the future. ;) **


	25. Messing With Lucy

Kendall taps his foot. Carlos taps his. Faster. Logan looks around the room, only to meet eyes with a tense Jo. His eyes look at the ground. Lucy paces faster. Jennifer bites her lip. Lightning barks and Stephanie shushes him. Jett sighs. The sun is setting. James should be back by now. Someone is going to break the silence. And Kendall will make sure nothing happens because of that.

"Guys, they've been gone for-" Carlos starts.

"We're not going after them!" Kendall orders. He wants to. But he knows that convincing someone to do something against what their '_love_' wants is harder than fighting off a pack of zombies. And he knows that they left. If he were dead, he wouldn't be a fighter. James is crazy, but still a fighter. He left on his own accord.

[x][x][x]

James walks, almost completely supporting Jennifer, despite the fact that he could collapse at any second. They've been jogging and walking for almost a day, with only a few short breaks and next to no food. But they've gone through worse in the past few months. Much worse.

"James, we need somewhere to sleep." Jennifer says finally. "I'm exhausted and hungry, and I know you are too."

"I guess you're right." James says. "There's a Denny's three blocks from here that should be alright."

"Okay." Jennifer says. They continue.

[x][x][x]

Kendall grabs a blanket for Logan, who is still a little weak. Lucy lies down in a chair, and Kendall sits next to Logan's couch. He leans against it with a sigh. Everyone is settling in, when Carlos walks out of the back room and starts pacing.

"What are you doing Carlos?" Jo asks, although she knows the answer.

"Freaking out!" He says. "Even if James left because he wanted to, that doesn't mean he's safe!"

"Carlos-" Kendall says.

"He could get hurt, or sick, or the worst one that I don't...even.." Carlos trails off and plops into a chair. His shiny eyes look at Kendall, the fear almost spilling in tears. "I don't want James to die."

"James can handle himself." Kendall assures Carlos, although part of it is for himself. "Besides, what do we owe him for skipping out on us?"

"Maybe the years of friendship!" Carlos argues. Kendall sighs and turns away. "Just gonna ignore me now? Fine." He crosses his arms and looks away from Kendall. Jo and Stephanie exchange a glance, knowing Carlos can't do it. "Okay, maybe I can't ignore you. But Kendall-" Kendall lets out a huge snore, obviously fake but enough to make Carlos let it go. He walks into the back, promptly stating he's sleeping in there.

"He's so scared." Logan says, worry clear in his voice, as Kendall faces up again.

"And you're not?" Jett remarks.

"Not really." Logan shrugs.

"Yeah, sure." Lucy rolls her eyes.

"What about you, Lucy?" Jett turns to her. "You scared?"

"Nope." Lucy says, her arms crossed.

"Really?" Jett smirks. "Because it seems to me like you are."

"I _really_ don't think we need to be talking about this." Lucy says.

"Why? Are you?" Jett says.

"So what if I am?" Lucy says. Everyone watches as she grows more uncomfortable.

"So nothing." Jett says. "You're just not nearly as strong as we thought you were." Lucy walks off into the restroom, leaving Jett standing there with a barely noticeable smile on his face.

"What the hell, Jett?" Jo says.

"Come on, I'm just messing with her." Jett says.

"Messing with her?" Logan says. "You're tormenting her."

"Yeah, why don't you stop acting like an #ssh#le." Jennifer says. Jett puts his hands up.

"Okay, didn't realize I was up against three vicious ladies, gosh." Jett says, glancing at Logan.

"Ladies!?" Logan says, angry. Jett snickers and sits in a chair, closing his eyes and almost immediately falling asleep.

"Can I kill him?" Jo asks. "Because I want to kill him." Stephanie puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Shh. We all do."

[x][x][x]

James peers into the window, despite the fact that he can barely see through it.

"I think we're good." He says. He reaches to open the door, but finds it locked.

"I got it." Jennifer kneels down and pulls a bobby pin out of her pocket. She begins working on the lock.

"Where'd you get a bobby pin?" James asks.

"It was deep in my pocket." Jennifer replies. "So it's kind of hard to lose." She opens the door, James walks in, and she follows, shutting the door behind her. They walk through the second door without event. Jennifer sets her small bag down, and James sits in a booth.

"Still smells like pancakes." James says with a somewhat happy sigh. He and Jennifer take a deep breath in, and just as their eyes open, they see a figure fly through the glass door, shattering it and falling to the floor. Jennifer screams and James' jaw drops to the floor. They slowly walk towards it. James lets out a single word as they realize who.

"Tobias."

* * *

**Oh, I got your attention now, do I? Make sure to let me know what you think of this twist in the reviews. Thank you!**


End file.
